FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

British Nationals Abroad

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what support and resources are available to coroners when they are dealing with cases of accidental death overseas.

Mark Simmonds: In England and Wales, a coroner may request a copy of the post mortem and police reports from the relevant country. This is facilitated by the Coroner's Liaison Officer in Consular Directorate who is based at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). Depending on the country involved, obtaining these reports can take time, perhaps running into several months, or even years. Further details of how coroners and the FCO work together on such cases are provided in a joint Memorandum of Understanding, which can be found at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/141958/mou-fco-acpo-coroners.pdf

British Nationals Abroad

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what support is given to relatives travelling overseas when there has been an accidental death or a serious accidental injury.

Mark Simmonds: Consular Officers from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) can meet the families of British nationals and offer support such as information about the local police and legal system, and local services they may need, such as lawyers and interpreters. They also keep families informed of case developments and put them in touch with UK services and organisations who can provide specialist practical and emotional support both overseas and in the UK. Some of these organisations receive direct funding from the FCO.
	The FCO will also consider making appropriate representations to the local authorities. For example, if an investigation is not being carried out according to local procedures; if there are justified complaints about discrimination against the person who has died or been injured, or against their family; or if we judge that delays or decisions are causing distress to the victim's family. The full range of support the FCO can provide in the cases of British nationals killed or injured abroad is described in its publication, Support for British Nationals Abroad. This can be found on the Gov.uk website at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/support-for-british-nationals-abroad-a-guide

British Nationals Abroad

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what advice and guidance is provided to young people going on holiday overseas independently regarding the danger of accidental death or serious accidental injury.

Mark Simmonds: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office provides travel safety messages to a wide range of audiences, including young people, through its Travel Advice service and the Know Before You Go campaign.
	The Foreign Travel Advice pages on the gov.uk website provide country-specific safety and security advice, as well as information and advice about specific overseas sporting and cultural events. Travellers can also ask us questions via email, Twitter and Facebook.
	We highlight these services through the Know Before You Go campaign, which advises British nationals on how to better prepare before they go overseas and promotes safe and trouble-free travel once there. Recent campaigns have covered issues such as the use of alcohol, drugs, safety on balconies and the importance of obtaining comprehensive travel insurance—all of which are of particular interest to young travellers. We have also issued safety tips and information to festival-goers, people engaging in winter sports and gap year travellers on the risks they may encounter during their travel.
	We work with over 500 industry partners on our campaign activities, including those with a youth focus, and we have a network of Student Brand Ambassadors who disseminate our travel safety messages alongside our own outreach activities at universities and travel shows. We also provide tailored resource materials for schools, and last year launched a travel guide called ‘Plan. Pack. Explore’, which can be downloaded as a mobile phone app.

British Nationals Abroad

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many (a) accidental deaths and (b) serious accidental injuries were suffered by British holiday-makers overseas in each of the last three years for which figures are available; and how many such deaths or serious injuries were suffered by people under the age of 30.

Mark Simmonds: Over the past three years the number of accidental deaths overseas of British citizens amounted to:
	2010-11: 397;
	2011-12: 363;
	2012-13: 330.
	The number of British citizens who were hospitalised over the same period amounted to:
	2010-11: 3,752
	2011-12: 3,744;
	2012-13: 3,603.
	The Foreign and Commonwealth Office's case management system does not break down these figures by age group or by whether the hospitalisation was due to serious injury.

China

Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what support the First Minister of Scotland received from officials in (a) the British Embassy in Beijing and (b) consular offices in China during his recent visit to that country.

Hugo Swire: The British embassy in Beijing and the Consulate-General in Hong Kong promote the influence and interests of the UK, and its constituent parts, in China. The embassy's Scottish Affairs Office, which is funded by the Scottish Government, managed the First Minister's visit. They were assisted by Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials in the wider embassy who secured and attended calls for the First Minister on key Communist Party officials in Beijing and briefed him on arrival. Officials at the Consulate-General in Hong Kong also briefed the First Minister and assisted in securing calls on Special Administrative Region Government officials there. This is an important point and we should highlight it. The visit was another good example of how the UK's diplomatic network, with its high level access around the world, provides a platform for the Scottish Government in delivering its objectives for Scotland.

Kenya

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received on the al-Shabaab group recruiting from Kenyan refugee camps.

Mark Simmonds: We are aware of reports, including from the media that Al Shabaab has sought to recruit from Kenyan refugee camps. The UK provides significant assistance for the protection and security of refugees through our support to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

Liberia

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether his Department has discussed with the Liberian authorities the provision of police training in that country.

Mark Simmonds: I toured the Liberia National Police Training Academy and had discussions with Ministers, including the Liberian President and the Liberian Minister for Justice who has responsibility for police matters, when I visited Liberia in October.
	My department regularly discusses security sector reform with the Liberian authorities. We are providing training for Liberia's Police at UK-administered staff college facilities in Sierra Leone.

Liberia

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department has taken to promote economic links and trade between the UK and Liberia.

Mark Simmonds: I visited Liberia in October to promote trade and prosperity and to formally re-open our embassy in Monrovia, after 22 years.
	During the re-opening of our embassy and in meetings with Ministers, including with the Liberian President, I encouraged Liberia to develop an open and fair business environment to support further trade between our countries. Our ambassador in Liberia has established a British Business Group to promote growing UK investment in sectors such as mining and port infrastructure.

Libya

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received on the assassination of, and assassination attempts on, military and security officials and activists in Benghazi.

Hugh Robertson: We are deeply concerned about the continuing assassination campaign and insecurity in Benghazi, and receive regular reports from our embassy and the media. Sadly, the recent attack on Colonel Abdullah Al-Sayti's convoy on 18 November was not an isolated event. On 11 October I condemned the assassination campaign in the east of Libya, and during my recent visit to Libya, on 18 and 19 November, I reassured the Libyan Prime Minister personally of our firm support for the Libyan democratic transition, including in the area of security assistance. We continue to stress the importance of all perpetrators of serious crimes in Libya being brought to justice.

Overseas Aid

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has had discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the continuation of funding for the Prosperity Fund beyond 2013-14.

Hugo Swire: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), is committed to using the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's resources to help secure a strong, sustainable and open global economy that creates the conditions for growth in the UK. This will remain a priority beyond the current financial year. The Foreign Secretary regularly discusses with the Chancellor of the Exchequer, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne), the resources that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office needs to meet this and it's other objectives.

Sudan

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the humanitarian and security situation in Darfur.

Mark Simmonds: Recent violent clashes in Darfur and the rise of attacks on African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) peacekeepers show how fragile the situation still is after nearly 10 years of fighting. The increase in inter-tribal fighting, in addition to the conflict between the Government of Sudan and armed rebel movements is a worrying trend.
	The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs assesses that around 300,000 people have been newly displaced this year due to fighting. All parties in Darfur need to ensure that humanitarian organisations are given full and unfettered access to all areas. It is vital that UNAMID has unrestricted access across Darfur, allowing them to create the right security environment for humanitarian organisations to operate. We regularly raise these issues in bilateral discussions with the Government of Sudan, and with members of the Darfuri rebel movements.

Sudan

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations his Department has made following the recent African Union Peace and Security Council statement insisting rebel movements join the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur process.

Mark Simmonds: We fully support the efforts of the African Union/UN Joint Chief Mediator for Darfur to engage the armed movements in the Darfur peace process. Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials last raised this with the leadership of those movements at a meeting on 11 November. It is essential that the Government of Sudan meets the commitments it has made under the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur if it is to have any success in attracting armed movements to join the process.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills for which offences prosecutions have been brought by the Employment Agencies Inspectorate in each of the last seven years.

Jo Swinson: All prosecutions are brought under the Employment Agencies Act 1973 and the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003, both as amended. More than one offence may have been prosecuted in a particular case. The Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate has prosecuted the following offences in each of the last seven years:
	
		
			  Number of prosecutions Reason for prosecution 
			 2012-13 7 Regulation 6 (two cases)—detrimental terms to the worker 
			   Regulation 12 (six cases)—late or non-payment of wages 
			   Regulation 25—one failing to pass on earnings 
			    
			 2011-12 0 None 
			    
			 2010-11 1 Regulation 25—late or non-payment of earnings 
			    
			 2009-10 2 Regulation 12 (two cases)—late or non-payment of wages 
			    
			 2008-09 1 Regulation 6—detrimental terms to workers 
			   Regulation 12—late or non-payment of wages 
			   Regulation 19—confirmation to be obtained about a work-seeker 
			    
			 2007-08 7 Section 6 (three cases)—charging fees to work seekers 
			   Regulation 6 (two cases)—detrimental terms to the worker 
			   Regulation 16—terms with work-seekers 
			   Regulation 17—failure to agree terms with a hirer 
			   Regulation 18—failure to pass on information to a hirer and/or work-seeker 
			   Regulation 25—failure to pass on earnings 
		
	
	
		
			   Regulation 26—not charging fees or commission from earnings 
			   Regulation 27—advertising 
			   Regulation 29—record keeping 
			    
			 2006-07 1 S6—charging work-seekers a fee for work-finding services

Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many inspections the Employment Agencies Inspectorate has carried out in each of the last seven years; how many such inspections resulted in prosecutions; and how many such inspections resulted in convictions.

Jo Swinson: The following table sets out the number of cases completed by the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate, the number of prosecutions that resulted from those cases, and the number of successful prosecutions, for the last seven years:
	
		
			  Number of cases completed Number of prosecutions Number of successful prosecutions 
			 2012-13 1,145 7 7 
			 2011-12 1,191 0 0 
			 2010-11 1,344 1 1 
			 2009-10 2,096 2 2 
			 2008-09 1,761 1 1 
			 2007-08 1,273 7 2 
			 2006-07 1,302 1 1

EU External Trade: Japan

Robert Syms: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent progress has been made on establishing a free trade deal between the EU and Japan.

Michael Fallon: Negotiations for an EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) were launched in April 2013 and so far three rounds have taken place. Discussions to date have covered every chapter and further progress was achieved at the EU-Japan summit on 19-20 November 2013. A fourth round of negotiations is scheduled for January 2014.

New Businesses: Government Assistance

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many start-up loans have been granted to businesses in each parliamentary constituency in England since the inception of the start-up loans scheme?

Matthew Hancock: We do not hold data on the number of start up loans granted to businesses by constituency area. The Prime Minister announced on 20 November 2013 that the Start Up Loans Company had supported over 10,000 entrepreneurs with a value of over £50 million. A breakdown is available by region and can be found at:
	http://www.startuploans.co.uk/businesses-backed/

Post Offices

Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what plans he has to put measures in place to ensure that passport and driving licence applications can be processed in all post offices, including sub-urban and rural sub post offices.

Jo Swinson: It is an operational matter for the relevant agencies, HM Passport Office and the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), to decide how many post offices within the wider network of more than 11,500 branches they require their services to be provided through. These services are governed by the Front Office Counter Services contract, which was awarded to Post Office Ltd following an open and competitive procurement.

Post Offices

Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what plans his Department has to launch initiatives to encourage more customers to use sub post offices following Royal Mail's privatisation; and what assessment he has made of the effect of the privatisation on the availability of Government front office counter services.

Jo Swinson: This Government is providing £1.34 billion to maintain and modernise the Post Office network, helping it become more sustainable in the longer-term. Post Office Ltd became a separate company in April 2012, and has a full independent Board able to take decisions in the best commercial interests of the business. Prior to separation, Post Office Ltd and Royal Mail signed a long-term commercial agreement that sees the continued availability of Royal Mail products and services across the network. This legally binding agreement is not affected by the sale of shares in Royal Mail.
	The privatisation of Royal Mail also has no effect on the Post Office's ambition to become the Front Office for Government. Since separation, Post Office Ltd has won, in open and competitive procurement processes, a number of key contracts, including the Front Office Counter Services framework contract, which is being used by the DVLA and HM Passport Office for the provision of services through the post office network.
	Alongside this, the Network Transformation programme, which rolled out nationally in October 2012, has already seen over 2,000 subpostmasters sign up to convert their branches to new operating models—main and local. Customer satisfaction at converted branches has been consistently over 90% (higher than traditional unconverted branches), with subpostmasters seeing an average 10% increase in post office customers using the branches.

Students: Disability

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many people studying in UK universities are registered as disabled.

David Willetts: The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) collects and publishes data on students at UK higher education institutions. Information is not collected on the number of students who were registered disabled. The performance indicators for higher education use the number of students in receipt of disabled students' allowance as a measure of participation by people with a disability, and these are published on the HESA website:
	http://www.hesa.ac.uk/content/view/2072/141/
	The performance indicators show that 72,150 (6% of) UK domiciled full-time undergraduate students were in receipt of disabled students' allowance in the academic year 2011-12. The equivalent figure for part-time students (who studied at least 50% of the time) was 7,475 (3.4%).
	These figures are sourced from the higher education sector and may understate the number of students who were registered as disabled.

Supermarkets: Sales Promotions

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will introduce legislative proposals to improve regulation of the use of special offers by large supermarkets.

Jo Swinson: The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 outlaws unfair commercial practices to the extent that they are likely to mislead the average consumer. The regime is principles-based and has very broad application. In the Government's view it is broad enough to cover any misleading practice, including misleading price promotions or special offers.
	Last year the Office of Fair Trading agreed a set of principles with eight of the large supermarket chains. The principles were designed to provide specific guidance on how supermarket price promotions can comply with the regulations. Retailers breaching the regulations risk investigation and enforcement activity by the Trading Standards Service.

Trade Missions: China

Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what support the First Minister of Scotland received from UK Trade and Investment during his recent trip to China.

Michael Fallon: UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) in the British Embassy provided the following support to the First Minister of Scotland:
	Support provided to the First Secretary Scottish Affairs and the Country Head, Greater China, Scottish Development International in preparing trade and investment aspects of the programme. This included input into briefing documents and support to secure meetings, where this was needed;
	UKTI attended a briefing session between HM Ambassador and the First Minister at the Residence on 3rd November;
	HM Ambassador accompanied the First Minister to a meeting with Yang Hua, President of China National Off-shore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), on 4 November;
	HM Ambassador accompanied the First Minister to a meeting with Zhang Yaocang, Vice President of Sinopec, on 4 November;
	HM Ambassador, the First Minister and UKTI attended a reception for Government officials and Scottish companies on 4 November.

Travel: Insurance

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions he has had with the (a) tourism and (b) insurance industry regarding the provision of travel insurance and safety advice to young people travelling overseas.

Helen Grant: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
	I have not held any discussions with the tourism and insurance industry regarding the provision of travel insurance and safety advice to young people travelling overseas. However, The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) provides travel safety messages through its Travel Advice service and through the ‘Know Before You Go’ campaign, which has been active since 2001.
	The FCO works closely with over 500 industry partners to extend the reach of its campaign activity. This includes representatives of the tourism and insurance industries, from tour operators and travel agents to insurance companies and umbrella organisations such as the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) and the Association for British Insurers.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Haass Talks

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent progress has been made on the Haass talks.

Theresa Villiers: Dr Haass and Professor O’Sullivan are approaching their task with great dedication and the UK Government are fully supportive of their work.
	I have met all the political parties taking part to hear their views and to encourage them to make progress on finding a solution on the difficult issues under discussion.

Annually Managed Expenditure

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent discussions she has had with her ministerial colleagues and Ministers in the Northern Ireland Executive on the changes to annually managed expenditure and the introduction of the welfare cap.

Andrew Robathan: The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chipping Barnet (Mrs Villiers), has had continuing discussions on these matters with ministerial colleagues both in Government and in the Northern Ireland Executive.

Economic Situation

William McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when she last meet the First Minister of Northern Ireland to discuss economic development.

Theresa Villiers: I regularly meet the First and Deputy First Minister to discuss a range of subjects including economic development. The most recent of these meetings was on 11 November.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Air Pollution: Greater London

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he last met the Mayor of London to discuss air quality; and what the outcome was of those discussions.

Dan Rogerson: The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs met the Mayor of London on 1 May this year and discussed air quality. DEFRA officials are also in regular contact with officials at the Greater London Authority and Transport for London to discuss air quality.

Animals: Imports

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many animals were prevented from entering the UK in (a) 2011 and (b) 2012 for not complying with the (i) Pet Travel Scheme and (ii) Balai Directive 92/65/EEC.

George Eustice: Responsibility for checking animals for compliance with the pet travel scheme (following EU Regulation 998/2003) is delegated to carriers (ferry, rail and sea operators) who are licensed to carry pets on the basis that they check 100% of animals presented for travel. In 2011 and 2012 these carriers refused travel into Great Britain as follows:
	
		
			 2011 
			 Animal Failures 
			 Cat 432 
			 Dog 2,875 
			 Ferret 9 
			 Total 3,316 
		
	
	
		
			 2012 
			 Animal Failures 
			 Cat 228 
			 Dog 3,768 
			 Ferret 2 
			 Total 3,998 
		
	
	A risk based regime of post-import checks is in place for animals travelling under the Balai Directive (92/65/EEC). Information relating to these checks is not held centrally and therefore could be compiled only at disproportionate cost.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Guy Opperman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many cattle have been slaughtered in the UK as a result of bovine tuberculosis in 2013 to date.

George Eustice: From 1 January to the end of August 2013, 22,512 cattle have been slaughtered solely because of bovine TB in Great Britain. In Northern Ireland there were 5,225 reactors in the same period.

Marine Conservation Zones

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when his Department expects to complete the Marine Conservation Zones network designation.

George Eustice: We will be designating two further tranches of Marine Conservation Zones over the next three years, which will aim to complete the English component of the UK's contribution to an ecologically coherent network of Marine Protected Areas.

Marine Conservation Zones

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will bring forward legislative proposals to give the conservation objectives contained in the designation orders of marine conservation zones a statutory basis.

George Eustice: The designation orders are legal orders allowed for under part 5 of the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009. As such, they provide a statutory basis for the conservation objectives.

Marine Conservation Zones

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what resources he plans to allocate to local regulators of marine conservation zones in order to provide effective monitoring and enforcement within designated sites.

George Eustice: Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities received additional funding for work on Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) for the spending review period up to 2014-15. Additional funding for MCZ work beyond this period is currently under consideration.

Marine Conservation Zones

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps in addition to designation his Department plans to take to ensure that the Marine Conservation Zone sites will provide the most effective protection to wildlife and are allowed to recover to their full potential.

George Eustice: The appropriate public authority will determine the best way to regulate Marine Conservation Zones following designation to ensure each site meets its conservation objectives.
	Successful management of Marine Protected Areas requires stakeholders to work in partnership and cooperate with each other, with conservation advisers and with regulators. We want to see well managed sites which conserve and protect our important habitats and features, and want all those with an interest to work in partnership to achieve this.

Marine Conservation Zones

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans his Department has to address the gaps in scientific knowledge which are necessary to designate new Marine Conservation zones.

George Eustice: Throughout the Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ) process we have commissioned additional research and evidence gathering to address gaps in scientific knowledge. We will continue to work with delivery partners to gather evidence to support MCZ designation. We have spent over £8 million over the last three years and have identified an additional £2 million this year.

Marine Conservation Zones

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for what reasons his Department’s recent consultation on Marine Conservation zones did not quantify the economic benefits of designation.

George Eustice: Compared to costs, benefits are harder to quantify as there are scientific uncertainties in ecosystem service changes in the marine environment and very little data that allow valuation of these changes. Similarly, positive changes in economic activity (e.g. tourism) are difficult to predict and attribute to Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) due to the many factors that contribute to economic growth in a particular sector. The consultation Impact Assessment explained benefits qualitatively, while the final Impact Assessment included some monetisation of benefits. However, these are illustrative only due to uncertainty and do not capture the full range of benefits that will result from the MCZs. No evidence was provided during the consultation by stakeholders that allowed the quantification of benefits at the national scale.
	DEFRA will review the need to fund research to better quantify the benefits of future tranches and examine evidence of economic benefits from the first tranche of MCZs to inform future decisions.

Marine Conservation Zones

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he expects the establishment of a Marine Conservation Zone network to represent a full range of marine features at a national level as well as on a broader bio-geographic level.

George Eustice: The Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 created an obligation on DEFRA and the devolved Administrations to establish a network of Marine Protected Areas (MPA), which is representative of the range of features present in the UK marine area. Marine Conservation Zones will contribute to this network, alongside other types of MPAs established under European and domestic legislation.

Marine Conservation Zones

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will ensure that designation of future tranches of Marine Conservation zones is not solely on a voluntary basis.

George Eustice: We will use the provision within the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 to designate two further tranches of Marine Conservation Zones over the next three years.
	Marine Protected Areas created by the exercise of powers in legislation may be supplemented by areas which stakeholders have agreed to treat as protected areas on a voluntary basis.

Marine Conservation Zones

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what evidence his Department holds that Marine Conservation zones will form an ecologically-coherent network capable of protecting functioning communities of marine life.

George Eustice: Designation of the first tranche of Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) in November 2013, has made a contribution towards establishing an ecologically coherent network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). It was not intended that these sites alone would create an effective network but would instead complement other MPAs and future MCZ designations, including in the devolved Administrations.
	We will be designating two further tranches of MCZs over the next three years, which will aim to complete the English component of the UK's contribution to an ecologically coherent network of MPAs. Whether the network is ecologically coherent will be informed by developing OSPAR (Administrator of the Oslo and Paris Conventions for the protection of the marine environment of the North-East Atlantic) methodologies and reporting requirements.

Plastic Bags

Caroline Dinenage: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the risk of food poisoning as a result of a five pence mandatory charge for single use carrier bags.

Dan Rogerson: As in Wales and Northern Ireland, we propose to exempt plastic bags that are solely used to contain unpackaged food intended for human consumption.
	People should continue to be aware of the risk of cross-contamination when placing food in reused bags.

HOME DEPARTMENT

The Guardian

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department spent on advertising with (a) The Guardian newspaper, (b) The Guardian website and (c)The Guardian Media Group in (i) 2009-10, (ii) 2010-11, (iii) 2011-12 and (iv) 2012-13.

James Brokenshire: holding answer 17 October 2013
	The Home Department's spend on advertising with (a)The Guardian newspaper, (b)The Guardian website and (c) The Guardian Media Group in the financial years 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13 is as follows:
	
		
			 Table 1 
			 £ 
			  Financial year  
			  2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 Total 
			 The Guardian Newspaper 0 0 0 0 0 
			 The Guardian 0 797 2,850 20,701 24,348 
			       
			 Website: The Guardian Online      
			 The Guardian News and Media Group 35,538 8,192 1,080 17,576 62,386 
		
	
	Advertising spend figures with The Guardian website for 2009-10 is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Human Trafficking

Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will (a) create the position of anti-slavery commissioner and (b) take other steps to increase the number of convictions for human trafficking.

James Brokenshire: The proposed draft Modern Slavery Bill will include provisions on the appointment of an Anti-Slavery Commissioner. The planned Commissioner will play a key role in strengthening the efforts of law enforcement agencies in the UK to secure more modern slavery and human trafficking investigations, prosecutions and convictions. The exact nature of this role is still being developed and will be further reviewed following pre-legislative scrutiny of the Bill.
	The proposed Modern Slavery Bill will also: increase the maximum sentence available on human trafficking and modern slavery offences from 14 years to life imprisonment; include the offences in the extended determinate sentences regime; and introduce civil orders to restrict the movement of perpetrators.
	Revised guidance on effective investigation and prosecution of offences will be issued shortly by the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Intelligence Services: Complaints

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many times the Investigatory Powers Tribunal has upheld a complaint against (a) GCHQ, (b) the Secret Intelligence Service and (c) the Security Service in each year from its foundation to date.

James Brokenshire: The Investigatory Powers Tribunal has not upheld any complaints against the Government Communications Headquarters, the Secret Intelligence Service and the Security Service.

Investigatory Powers Tribunal

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions in each year of its existence the Investigatory Powers Tribunal has held open hearings; and what public body has been the subject of each such hearing.

James Brokenshire: A list of the open hearings held by the Investigatory Powers Tribunal is set out as follows:
	2003-Kennedy, British Irish Watch and Others v. the Security Service, GCHQ, SIS and the Metropolitan Police Service
	2004-B v. the Security Service
	2006-C v. the Police and the Home Office
	2006-National Black Police Association and Others v. the Metropolitan Police Service
	2008-Frank-Steiner v. the Data Controller, SIS
	2009-Jenny Patton and Others v. Poole Borough Council
	2012-Vaughan v. South Oxfordshire District Council
	2012-BA and Others v. Cleveland Police
	2013-A Complaint of Surveillance
	The following hearing was originally closed, but was made open by the release of a full transcript:
	2003-Rulings of the Tribunal on Preliminary Issues of Law
	While the tribunal is not obliged by statue to report on its activities the practice has been to publish statistics regularly on the number of complaints considered. The most recent information regarding the complaints made to the tribunal in 2012 is set out on their website at:
	http://www.ipt-uk.com/
	This states that in 2012 they carried forward 47 cases from 2011, received 168 cases, completed 191 and carried forward 24 cases to 2013.

Kings Science Academy

David Ward: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 7 November 2013, Official Report, column 339W, on Kings Science Academy, for what reasons Action Fraud did not request further information from the Department of Education when Action Fraud reported that there was not enough information to progress the case further on 5 September 2013.

James Brokenshire: holding answer 22 November 2013
	Action Fraud is a reporting channel for crimes of this nature and is not an investigatory body. It records crime and information reports on behalf of the police and forwards all reports to the City of London Police's National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB). The NFIB assess reports it receives from Action Fraud and other organisations and makes a decision on whether to disseminate crime packages to law enforcement agencies. The police decide whether to investigate and whether to request additional information from a victim.

Passports: Fingerprints

Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans her Department has to introduce fingerprint scanning in the passport application processes.

Mark Harper: There are no plans to introduce fingerprint scanning into the passport application process.

Police: Dogs

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many working dogs are currently used by the police, in police force area; and what the breed and type is of each such dog in each such area.

Damian Green: The Home Office does not hold this information centrally.

Police: Football

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what account her Department takes of the level at which football teams in an area compete when allocating resources to police services for policing football matches.

Damian Green: The majority of Government funding for the police is allocated using the police allocation formula (PAF). No consideration of the level at which football teams in an area compete is made by the PAF. The amount of resource allocated to policing football matches is a local decision for the relevant police and crime commissioner in consultation with the chief constable.

Telephone Services

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many telephone lines with the prefix (a) 0845, (b) 0844 and (c) 0843 her Department (i) operates and (ii) sponsors; how many calls each number has received in the last 12 months; and whether alternative numbers charged at the BT local rate are available in each case.

James Brokenshire: The following table details the use and purpose of non geographic numbers, 0843, 0844 and 0845.
	
		
			 Home Office 
			 Prefix Number of lines/service Inbound calls in last 12 months Alternative BT local rate number 
			 0843 0 n/a No 
			 0844 0 n/a No 
			 0845 Nationality Contact Centre/European Enquiry Line 537,070 No 
			 0845 Asylum Support Line 53,975 No 
			 0845 MPs Enquiry Line 24,421 No 
		
	
	
		
			 HM Passport Office 
			 Prefix Number of lines/service Call volumes for FY 2012-13 Alternative BT local rate number 
			 0843 0 n/a No 
			 0844 0 n/a No 
			 0845 Customer Letters 424,000 No 
			 0845 Passport verification services (PVS) (a Business to Business Service) 43,099 No

PRIME MINISTER

Domestic Visits

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Prime Minister what the date and venue was of each PM Direct event in which he has taken part since May 2010; what the total cost to the public purse was of those events; and what form of transport he used to travel to each such event.

David Cameron: PM Direct events provide members of the public with an opportunity to raise local, regional or national issues with me directly. Each PM Direct event, including travel, has been arranged in accordance with ministerial and civil service guidelines. Costs have been minimised as far as possible. The cost of any security provided by the police is a matter for the relevant police force. So far this year there have been 10 PM Direct events at a total cost of £44,165.22.
	For figures for the previous two years I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Airdrie and Shotts (Pamela Nash) on 15 April 2013, Official Report, column 63W.

India

Keith Vaz: To ask the Prime Minister how many people who accompanied him on his recent visit to India were of British-Indian origin.

David Cameron: My office does not hold this information, but details of ministerial overseas travel are published quarterly and are available on the gov.uk website.

TRANSPORT

Biofuels

Fiona O'Donnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the Government continues to support a cap of five per cent on the proportion of EU renewable energy transport targets that can be met through food-based biofuels; and what representations he plans to make to other EU member states ahead of the European Energy Council vote on this issue on 12 December 2013.

Robert Goodwill: The UK Government is actively engaged with representatives of the European Council from all member states, ahead of the 12 December European Energy Council vote.
	Negotiations on the proposed directive are ongoing and we continue to make the case for effective action on ILUC, including supporting a 5% cap. We hope that an agreement can be reached as soon as possible.

Cycling

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what funding his Department allocates to (a) promote cycling, (b) promote cycling safety and (c) provide infrastructure improvements.

Robert Goodwill: This Government has committed £278 million of funding directly for cycling; along with £535 million investment from the Local Sustainable Transport Fund on projects which include cycling. This funding supports local authorities across England to deliver schemes to promote cycling, such as new and improved cycle routes, improved junctions and crossings; Bikeability cycle training to improve cyclist road sense and safety; increased cycle parking at rail stations; as well as some cycle hire schemes.
	We have invested £35 million specifically to deliver safer junctions for cyclists; this includes £15 million for junctions in London. In October we launched our first paid-for THINK! Campaign: THINK CYCLIST' “Let's Look Out For Each Other”.
	In August this year the Prime Minister announced cycling will be considered at the design stage of all new trunk road schemes which, where possible, will be 'cycle-proofed' so they can be navigated confidently by the average cyclist. £5 million will be invested initially with a further £15 million in 2015-16 to help cyclists on the trunk road network. In addition we are working with local authorities and Transport for London on trialling innovative schemes to improve cycle safety at junctions.

Cycling: Essex

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of minor and major cycling injuries in (a) Essex and (b) Chelmsford constituency.

Robert Goodwill: Table RAS30043 of ‘Reported Road Casualties: Great Britain’, available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/239774/ras30043.xls
	provides the number of pedal cycle casualties by severity (fatalities, casualties killed or seriously injured, and all casualties) in reported road accidents for each local authority in England for 2010 to 2012. The table shows there were 263 casualties and three fatalities in Essex in 2012. Statistics for the Chelmsford constituency show 23 casualties in 2012, with no fatalities, a reduction from 41 casualties in 2011. Statistics for reported road casualties in 2013 will be available in June 2014.
	The safety of cyclists is very important to the Government and it has committed £278 million of funding directly for cycling; this funding supports local authorities across England to deliver schemes to promote and improve safe cycling. Included in the funding is £35 million that delivers junction improvements to improve the safety of cyclists; in addition to the continued support of Bikeablity cycle training that aims to improve cyclists' road sense and safety. As well as the funding detailed above, 94 out of 96 Local Sustainable Transport Fund projects include cycling as an element in their delivery programmes; these 94 projects receive a total of £535 million of DFT funding. In October we launched our first paid-for THINK! Campaign: ‘THINK CYCLIST’ “Let's Look Out For Each Other”.
	The Government, through the reduction of bureaucracy and supporting changes in regulations, has made it easier for local authorities to implement 20 mph zones, ‘Trixi’ mirrors and highway measures to support cycle safety. In addition we are working with local authorities and Transport for London on trialling innovative schemes to improve cycle safety at junctions; as well as supporting the European Union to improve lorry design standards. The Department for Transport has a Cycle Safety Forum to bring together partners with a shared goal of enhancing cycle safety; members include ACPO, cycling stakeholders, motoring and freight organisations.

Cycling: Greater London

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the level of safety for cyclists in (a) East London and (b) elsewhere in London.

Robert Goodwill: Table RAS30043 of “Reported Road Casualties: Great Britain”, available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/239774/ras30043.xls
	provides the number of pedal cycle casualties by severity (fatalities, casualties killed or seriously injured, and all casualties) in reported road accidents for each local authority in England for 2010 to 2012.
	The table, with figures broken down by London borough, shows that five of the 14 fatalities in London in 2012 were in East London boroughs. Statistics for reported road casualties in 2013 will be available in June 2014.
	Cycling in London is growing significantly, with cycling on the Capital's main roads having almost tripled in the last decade. However, the number of cyclists killed on London's roads fell during 2012, compared to 2011 (from 16 to 14 cyclist fatalities). Looking over the longer term, the number of cyclists killed on London's roads in the last five years was 17% lower than in the previous five years.
	Taking into account the considerable increase in cycling on London's roads, the number of cyclists killed per journey cycled in London has fallen by 55% in the ten years from 2002 to 2011, the most recent figures available. In addition, the number of cyclists killed or seriously injured (KSI) per journey cycled in London has also fallen, by 22% over the same ten year period.
	Both the Government and Transport for London (TfL) have taken steps to increase cycle safety. The Government has committed £278 million of funding directly for cycling; along with £535 million investment from the Local Sustainable Transport Fund on projects which include cycling. This funding supports local authorities across England to deliver schemes to promote and improve safe cycling. Included in the funding is £35 million that delivers junction improvements to improve the safety of cyclists—including £15 million specifically for junctions in London; along with the continued support of Bikeablity cycle training that aims to improve cyclists' road sense and safety. In October we launched our first paid-for THINK! Campaign: THINK CYCLIST “Let's Look Out For Each Other”.
	In September TfL, the Mayor of London and DfT announced new proposals to increase cycle safety. The proposed “Safer Lorry Charge” would levy a fee on any HGV which is not fitted with basic safety equipment to protect cyclists. A consultation on this will begin in early 2014. Also announced was an industrial HGV task force of police officers, funded by TfL, to take direct action against dangerous drivers, vehicles and operators.

Cycling: Safety

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of minor and major cycling injuries.

Robert Goodwill: The safety of cyclists is very important to the Government and it has committed £278 million of funding directly for cycling; along with £535 million investment from the Local Sustainable Transport Fund on projects which include cycling. This funding supports local authorities across England to deliver schemes to promote and improve safe cycling. Included in the funding is £35 million that delivers junction improvements to improve the safety of cyclists; along with the continued support of Bikeablity cycle training that aims to improve cyclists’ road sense and safety. In October we launched our first paid-for THINK! Campaign: THINK CYCLIST' “Let's Look Out For Each Other”.
	The Government, through the reduction of bureaucracy and supporting changes in regulations, has made it easier for local authorities to implement 20 mph zones; Trixi' mirrors and highway measures to support cycle safety. In addition we are working with local authorities and Transport for London on trialling innovative schemes to improve cycle safety at junctions; as well as supporting the European Union to improve lorry design standards. The Department for Transport has a Cycle Safety Forum to bring together partners with a shared goal of enhancing cycle safety; members include ACPO, cycling stakeholders, motoring and freight organisations.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the cost was to HS2 Ltd of their Head of Public Affairs distributing to hon. Members a speech given by Lord Heseltine to the Royal Town Planning Institute; and if he will publish the list of those to whom the speech was sent.

Robert Goodwill: The text of Lord Heseltine's recent speech to the Royal Town Planning Institute was sent by HS2 Ltd to a distribution list of all 650 Members of Parliament. It is not possible to calculate or isolate the cost of sending an individual email, but I am satisfied the cost will have been negligible and that this was the most cost-effective means of distributing the information.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the community fora and meetings organised by HS2 Ltd where travel costs or assistance (a) were and (b) were not offered to participants.

Robert Goodwill: HS2 Ltd did not offer any financial assistance to attendees of community forums and community meetings. All those attending the community forums and meetings did so in a voluntary capacity. Details of all the community and other engagement forums are listed on the HS2 Ltd website—see following link:
	http://www.hs2.org.uk/developing-hs2/forums/community-forums

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish the independent study that shows that without the capacity provided by High Speed 2 the main roads linking eight out of 10 of the United Kingdom's largest cities will be overwhelmed.

Robert Goodwill: The ‘Strategic Case for HS2’ (Department for Transport, October 2013) sets out why the Government considers HS2 to be the best way to address long-term transport capacity pressures, especially on the north-south corridors which link many of our major cities. It makes reference to the Department for Transport's most recent road traffic forecasts, which were published in July 2013 alongside the Command Paper ‘Action for Roads’, and show that by 2040 traffic on strategic roads will have grown by 46% on central assumptions.
	The Strategic Case for HS2 also explains why increasing road capacity alone is not the solution. Motorways cannot match the speed of high speed rail and it is difficult to increase the capacity of urban roads, as they are already highly developed and congested.

Railways: Electrification

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what money has been set aside for electrification of railway lines for 2014-15.

Stephen Hammond: In the period from 2014 to 2019, the Government's rail investment strategy will deliver over £9 billion of rail enhancement expenditure including the electrification of over 800 miles of route. The delivery of the electrification programme and the level of spending on electrification in 2014-15 is a matter for the rail industry.

Railways: Freight

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions he has had with Network Rail about the acquisition of former British Rail freight sites from freight operating companies; and what his policy is on the transfer process that Network Rail should use in such circumstances.

Stephen Hammond: I have not discussed this issue with Network Rail, but I am aware that last year Network Rail consulted on a proposal to acquire sites currently held by DB Schenker Rail (UK) Ltd/English Welsh and Scottish Railway International Ltd and this year has been holding discussions with a number of the freight operating companies for a similar purpose.
	The transfer process is a contractual matter between Network Rail and the operator holding the leasehold. The mechanism for management of such sites surrendered by the freight operating companies, including their potential safeguarding for future freight purposes, was set out in a Deed of Agreement dated 1 April 1994 (“the 1994 Supplemental Agreement”) between British Railways Board and Railtrack plc as a supplemental agreement to the Railtrack Transfer Scheme made under section 85 of the Railways Act 1993.

Shrewsbury-Wolverhampton Railway Line

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what estimate his Department has made of the benefits of electrification of the line between Shrewsbury and Wolverhampton;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the effect of electrification of the line between Shrewsbury and Wolverhampton on the local economy;
	(3)  what assessment he has made of the effect of electrification of the line between Shrewsbury and Wolverhampton on commuters.

Stephen Hammond: The route between Shrewsbury and Wolverhampton was not put forward by the rail industry as a priority for electrification and it is not included in the electrification programme for the 2014-19 period. The Department for Transport has therefore made no assessment of the benefits of electrification for this route or of the effect on commuters and the local economy.

Shrewsbury-Wolverhampton Railway Line

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what discussions he has had with local businesses on the benefits that electrification of the line between Shrewsbury and Wolverhampton will bring;
	(2)  what discussions he has had with Shropshire County Council on the electrification of the line between Shrewsbury and Wolverhampton.

Stephen Hammond: The Secretary of State for Transport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Derbyshire Dales (Mr McLoughlin), has had no discussions with local businesses or Shropshire County Council regarding electrification of the line between Shrewsbury and Wolverhampton.

Shrewsbury-Wolverhampton Railway Line

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the electrification of the line between Shrewsbury and Wolverhampton being included in the Government's further electrification of the rail network.

Stephen Hammond: Further electrification of the rail network is under consideration by the rail industry. Network Rail is currently updating the industry electrification strategy which will inform future Government decisions on further investment in electrification.

Shrewsbury-Wolverhampton Railway Line

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the benefit to the environment of electrification of the line between Shrewsbury and Wolverhampton.

Stephen Hammond: The route between Shrewsbury and Wolverhampton was not put forward by the rail industry as a priority for electrification and it is not included in the electrification programme for the 2014-19 period. The Department for Transport has therefore made no assessment of the benefits of electrification of this route on the environment.

Shrewsbury-Wolverhampton Railway Line

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to visit Shrewsbury and assess the benefits of electrification of the line between Shrewsbury and Wolverhampton.

Stephen Hammond: Transport Ministers have no current plans to visit but are fully aware of the benefits rail electrification can bring to passengers and the economy.

DEFENCE

Armed Forces: Immunity From Prosecution

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to bring forward legislative proposals to extend the doctrine of combat immunity to cover activities excluded by the Crown Proceedings (Armed Forces) Act 1987.

Andrew Murrison: The Government will contest vigorously forthcoming court cases, which it is hoped will provide the necessary clarification on the important issue of combat immunity. The possibility of legislation being required will be considered in the light of their outcome.

Armed Forces: Injuries

Caroline Dinenage: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many serving and former service personnel are recorded as having facial scarring as a result of injuries sustained in the performance of their duties.

Anna Soubry: The Defence Medical Information Capability Programme (DMICP) is the source of electronic, integrated health care records for Defence Primary Healthcare and some specialist care providers. As at 22 November 2013, there are no service personnel with “facial scarring” entered in their record on the DMICP.
	While a search for records of individuals with facial injuries could be undertaken, it would not be possible in every case to tell from the type of injury those which would have left a scar.

Armed Forces: Injuries

Caroline Dinenage: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many serving and former service personnel are in receipt of a war disablement pension for facial scarring, either solely or alongside other injuries.

Anna Soubry: As at 31 March 2013 (the latest date for which War Pensions Scheme statistics are available) a minimum of 590 ex-service personnel were in receipt of an ongoing War Pension for facial scarring, burns or lacerations. No specific diagnostic code exists for facial scarring therefore a search of the free-text condition field was carried out to compile the figures. Due to the nature of free-text information it is possible that some records have not been identified and the figure of 590 should be interpreted as the minimum.
	Between 6 April 2005 (the start of the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS)) and 31 March 2013 (the latest date for which information is available) 240 serving/ex-serving personnel were awarded compensation under the AFCS for facial scarring, burns or lacerations. As at 1 November 2013 (the date of the latest armed forces personnel file) 135 of these individuals were still serving and 105 had left the services.

Armed Forces: Sexual Offences

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  if he will commission a follow-up study to the 2006 Equal Opportunities Commission report on sexual harassment in the armed forces;
	(2)  what steps his Department has taken to reduce sexual harassment in the armed forces since the Equal Opportunities Commission published its report on that issue in 2006.

Anna Soubry: The armed forces are an equal opportunities employer and are committed to ensuring a working environment free from harassment, intimidation and unlawful discrimination. This is morally and legally the right thing to do. In addition, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) recognises that operational effectiveness depends on cohesion and teamwork, which are enhanced by treating everyone fairly, with dignity and respect. This commitment has been matched with real and tangible progress since the publication of the 2006 report; for full details I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my predecessor, my right hon. Friend the Member for Rayleigh and Wickford (Mr Francois), on 25 April 2013, Official Report, columns 1249-52W, to the hon. Member for Bridgend (Mrs Moon).
	In October 2007 the Equal Opportunities Commission became part of a new single equality body, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC). While there are no current plans to commission the EHRC to produce a new report, MOD officials are actively engaged in scoping the best way to quantify and measure the improvement in the lived experience of service personnel since the 2006 survey was carried out.

Armed Forces: Training

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many personnel have been trained at US Altus Air Force base since the C-17 has come into service; and if he will estimate the cost to the public purse of such training.

Andrew Murrison: The information will take time to collate. The Minister for the Armed Forces, my right hon. Friend the Member for Rayleigh and Wickford (Mr Francois), will write to the hon. Member as soon as it is available.

HMS Illustrious

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with ministerial colleagues in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport about the possibility of preserving HMS Illustrious as a cultural asset following the ship's decommissioning; what his plans for HMS Illustrious are after her decommissioning; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: There have been no discussions with ministerial colleagues in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport about the preservation of HMS Illustrious after decommissioning.
	I refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statement made by the Minister for Defence Equipment Support and Technology, my hon. Friend the Member for Ludlow (Mr Dunne), on 15 October 2013, Official Report, columns 48-9WS.

Human Rights

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has spent on legal advice, representation and support in third party claims brought against the Department under the Human Rights Act 1998 since that Act entered into force.

Anna Soubry: I will write to the hon. Member with figures on associated spending for the most recent years. Figures are not held centrally in relation to expenditure since 1998.

RAF Police

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many troops were deployed to Mali from the RAF protection police.

Andrew Murrison: I have taken the term "RAF protection police" to mean RAF police in this instance. No RAF police personnel were deployed to Mali. However, each air transport aircraft that flew in to Mali contained an aviation security team, which included RAF police personnel.

TREASURY

Bank of England

William Bain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the role of the Bank of England as central bank and lender of last resort in contributing to growth and fiscal sustainability in Scotland in the last 10 years.

Sajid Javid: The independent Monetary Policy Committee's macroeconomic policy tools are designed to affect the economy as a whole, in order to meet the 2% inflation target over the medium term.
	If Scotland were to become independent, the Bank of England would be the central bank for the continuing UK. The continuing UK would have to agree to Scotland taking part in the UK's monetary arrangements as part of a currency union and it is highly unlikely that one could be agreed or made to work.

Coal: Concessions

John Mann: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether delivery of fuel and payment in lieu of coal will be backdated to ensure that former mineworkers and widows have sufficient fuel in the current winter; and if he will make a statement.

Nicky Morgan: holding answer 21 November 2013
	The Government expects the schemes to be fully restored with all entitlements backdated as soon as possible and all concessionaires to be added to the normal delivery programme by March 2014.
	If some individual concessionaires find that they are running out of fuel and require an urgent delivery, they should contact distributors, CPL.

Coal: Concessions

John Mann: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when delivery of fuel and payment in lieu of coal to former mineworkers and widows will recommence; and if he will make a statement.

Nicky Morgan: holding answer 21 November 2013
	The Government expects the schemes to be fully restored as soon as possible, with all entitlements backdated and all concessionaires to be added to the normal delivery programme by March 2014.

Coal: Concessions

John Mann: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to his announcement of 15 November 2013, on the concessionary fuel allowance, what provision he is making for those former miners and widows who had already purchased coal in the belief that their fuel allowance had stopped; and if he will make a statement.

Nicky Morgan: holding answer 22 November 2013
	Concessionaries who have purchased fuel since July 2013 will be reimbursed where they are able to provide a receipt or documentary evidence of that purchase.

Financial Services: Taxation

George Galloway: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimates his Department has made of the increase in revenue from a financial transaction tax on (a) shares and bonds, and (b) derivatives set at levels similar to those now being contemplated by some European Union member states.

Sajid Javid: I refer the hon. Member to the answers given to him on 31 January 2013, Official Report, column 924W.

Fraud: EU Law

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish his Department's analysis of the benefits of European Council Framework Decision 2001/413/JHA of 28 May 2001, combating fraud and counterfeiting of non-cash means of payment; and if he will make a statement.

Damian Green: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.
	Council Framework Decision 2001/413/JHA of 28 May 2001, on combating fraud and counterfeiting of non-cash means of payment is one of the measures subject to the 2014 decision. As set out in Command Paper 8671 it is not one of the 35 measures within the scope of that decision that the Government intends to seek to rejoin.
	The Framework Decision establishes low level minimum standards of criminal law to ensure that fraud and counterfeiting involving all forms of non-cash means of payment are recognised as criminal offences and are subject to effective, proportionate and dissuasive sanctions by member states.
	This Framework Decision is one of a number of minimum standards measures that we meet and exceed through our domestic legislation. In most cases we met the standards before they were even created. This will continue to be the case and we simply do not need to be bound by this measure. The Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), has committed to providing Parliament with an impact assessment on the final list of measures that the UK will apply to rejoin. This will be done in good time ahead of the second vote on this matter and contain all relevant information.

Infrastructure

John Healey: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 31 October 2013, Official Report, column 534W, on infrastructure guarantees, how many prequalified projects have not been disclosed for commercial reasons.

Danny Alexander: 19 of the 40 prequalified projects have not been disclosed.

Infrastructure

John Healey: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 31 October 2013, Official Report, column 534W, on infrastructure guarantees, what the location is of each of the 40 projects pre-qualified for the UK Guarantees scheme.

Danny Alexander: The 40 prequalified projects are located throughout the United Kingdom.
	The list of prequalified projects that have agreed to be disclosed can be found on the gov.uk website.

Japan Tobacco

Kevin Barron: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has made representations to the European Anti-Fraud Office over the time taken to investigate allegations about Japan Tobacco International.

Nicky Morgan: The Chancellor of the Exchequer has made no representations to the European Anti-Fraud Office over the time taken to investigate allegations about Japan Tobacco International.

Remittances

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the membership is and terms of reference are of the Action Group on Cross Border Remittances.

Sajid Javid: As outlined in my written ministerial statement of 10 October 2013, Official Report, columns 29-30WS, membership of the Action Group and the terms of reference are in the process of being agreed, by the end of 2013. It will include representatives from the private sector, supervisors, civil society and international partners.

Remittances

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress he has made on the cross-departmental plan to secure the future of the UK remittance market.

Sajid Javid: The Government is taking active steps to help facilitate a comprehensive and durable solution to secure the future of the UK remittance market. In particular, we are in the process of establishing an Action Group on Cross Border Remittances. My written ministerial statement on 10 October 2013, Official Report, columns 29-30WS, outlined the timetable for establishing this group.
	The Government steering group has met weekly throughout November to take this forward. Developing a market-led solution to solve the problems in the remittance market and re-build trust with the banks will take time. Officials continue to monitor the situation closely and maintain liaison with relevant stakeholders.

Tobacco

Kevin Barron: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether it is the Government's position that any tobacco control system should be independent of the tobacco manufacturers.

Jane Ellison: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department of Health.
	The Government believes that any tobacco control system should be the most effective and efficient available to deliver the benefits required and that it will be important to draw on all the expertise available to arrive at the most effective solution.

UK Trade and Investment

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment his Department has made of the robustness of (a) Trade Growth Value (TGV) and (b) other measures used by UK Trade & Investment in evaluating that agency's economic impact.

Nicky Morgan: A wide range of statistics are used to monitor the-performance of UKTI and its economic impact. Several of these have been produced in a consistent way over a number of years. A number of the statistics are produced by independent external economists.
	The Treasury supports UKTI's work in producing monitoring statistics and the difficult task of estimating its economic impact. The Treasury recognizes the inherent difficulties in determining what would have happened if UKTI did not exist, and hence a number of assumptions have to be made to estimate the economic impact. The Treasury has assessed the overall approach and judge that the information is fit for the purposes of monitoring trends through time and judging the relative impact of different interventions. Trade Growth Value is a relatively new statistic. The Treasury will assess its usefulness once a longer time series of figures exists.

Video Games: Exports

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the value of exports from the UK video games industry has been in each of the last five years.

Edward Vaizey: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
	Data are currently only available for 2009 and shows that the service exports of video games were £78 million. The 2009 data for Video Games (Digital and Entertainment Media) have already been made available in the DCMS Creative Industries Economic Estimates.
	DCMS has been consulting on the Creative Industries classification and we intend to produce new Creative Industries Economic Estimates as soon as the final classification has been agreed.

CABINET OFFICE

Government Departments: Procurement

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  how many projects have been rated as (a) green, (b) amber and (c) red by the Gateway Review process in each year since its inception;
	(2)  which projects have been rated as red by the Gateway Review process in the last five years.

Francis Maude: Gateway Reviews commissioned by the Major Projects Authority are not routinely published. In May 2013, the Government published the first ever Major Projects Authority Annual Report which sets out the delivery confidence ratings of its major projects.
	In line with the practice of successive Administrations, further details on assurance reviews are not normally made public.

Statistics

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office which statistics have been required by the EU in the last 10 years but are no longer required.

Nick Hurd: holding answer 25 November 2013
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Jil Matheson, dated November 2013
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking the Minister for the Cabinet Office which statistics have been required by the EU in the last 10 years but are no longer required. 177049.
	Statistics deemed necessary by the Council and European Parliament for the functioning of the EU are called ‘European Statistics’. European statistics required in any particular 5 year period are defined in the multiannual European Statistical Programme (ESP). The Programmes for 2003-07 and 2008-12 defined which statistics were required in any particular 5 year period in the last 10 years:
	http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:C:2003:131E:0068:0071:EN:PDF
	http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2007:344:0015:0043:EN:PDF
	Current requirements are set out in the ESP for 2013-17:
	http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2013:039:0012:0029:en:PDF
	Broad changes in requirements will be reflected in the differences in these documents. More detailed requirements for each year of the ESP are described in Annual Statistical Work Programmes for the relevant year. The annual programmes itemise all new and ongoing statistical requirements, As part of the adoption of each annual programme both efficiency measures and so-called “negative priorities” are identified; that is, those individual statistical outputs that are no longer required for EU policy-making. An analysis of the totality of these negative priorities over the past 10 years has not been possible in the time available to reply to this Parliamentary Question. I will write to you again once that analysis has been completed and also place a copy in the House of Commons Library.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Energy

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent discussions his Department has had with (a) the National Grid and (b) gas distribution companies on support for (i) their supply chains and (ii) UK manufacturing.

Michael Fallon: The Department has had a range of discussions with both the National Grid and Gas Distribution Companies including on Security of Supply and EMR, but none specifically on Supply Chains or UK Manufacturing.

Energy: Essex

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the average household (a) gas and (b) electricity bill was in (i) Essex and (ii) Chelmsford constituency in each year since 2010.

Michael Fallon: Energy bill data are only available at a Public Electricity Supply (PES) region level. Since the county of Essex and the Chelmsford constituency are both within the Eastern PES region, energy bill estimates for that region have been provided in the following table.
	
		
			 £ 
			  Average annual domestic bill in Eastern PES region 
			  Gas Electricity 
			 2010 652 407 
			 2011 713 446 
			 2012 797 467 
		
	
	These are based on an assumed annual consumption of 3,300 kWh of electricity and 18,000 kWh of gas per year.
	These estimates can be found in table 2.2.3 (electricity) and 2.3.3 (gas) of DECC's Quarterly Energy Prices publication:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/annual-domestic-energy-price-statistics
	Provisional estimates for average annual energy bills in 2013 will be published on 19 December 2013 in Quarterly Energy Prices.

Flexible Working

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many officials in his Department make use of compressed hours arrangements as part of the Civil Service's flexible working hours scheme (a) above and (b) below director level.

Gregory Barker: Compressed hours working is one of a range of flexible working options available to all employees of the Department of Energy and Climate Change.
	All requests to work flexibly whether informal or formal, including where there is a statutory right to request a flexible working arrangement, must always be balanced with business requirements and priorities.
	The Department does not keep a central record of employees who work a compressed week. Line managers are responsible for recording and monitoring working patterns for their teams in line with departmental policy.

Hinkley Point C Power Station

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assumptions about the Government's carbon price floor policy are built into the contract for the nuclear power station at Hinkley Point C.

Michael Fallon: Government and EDF have reached commercial agreement on key terms of an investment contract, however, negotiations on the detail remain on-going.
	Should a full investment contract be agreed, it would be laid before Parliament and published with confidential data redacted, in accordance with the provisions set out in the Energy Bill which is currently progressing through Parliament. Alongside this, we would also publish summaries of value-for-money assessments which will include information on the carbon price floor assumptions used in our analysis.

Hinkley Point C Power Station

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the potential economic effect of Hinkley Point C on (a) UK manufacturing companies and (b) steel companies in (i) Wales and (ii) the UK.

Michael Fallon: Assessment of the potential economic effect of the proposed 16 GW nuclear new build programme, which includes Hinkley Point C, was undertaken by the Nuclear Industry Association and, separately, Oxford Economics and Atkins, funded, respectively, by BIS and jointly BIS and DECC.(1) The latter assessment indicated that the UK supply chain has the potential to capture around 60% of the overall value of investment in such a programme. No specific assessments have been made of the economic effect on manufacturing companies, including steel companies, that might be involved in the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station or other projects planned across the UK. Decisions on awarding contracts for the work at Hinkley Point C are a commercial matter for EDF. However, EDF have indicated that around 57% of the construction opportunities at Hinkley Point C could be awarded to UK companies.
	(1) ‘N1A Capability Report 2012; The Economic Benefit of Improving the UK's Nuclear Supply Chain Capability Oxford Economics and Atkins, 2013’.

Nuclear Reactors

Craig Whittaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment his Department has made of the use of mini-nuclear reactors as a solution to the UK's future energy needs; and if he will fund research and development on such reactors.

Michael Fallon: holding answer 26 November 2013
	The Nuclear Industrial Strategy and its supporting documents considered the potential for small modular reactors (SMRs), both as a possible element of future energy supply and as a means of providing growth opportunities for UK industry. The strategy set out the aim for the UK to be a key partner of choice in commercialising Generation III+, IV and SMR nuclear technologies worldwide.
	The Nuclear Rand D Roadmap: Future Pathways also considered the role of SMRs in the UK's energy future and the research needs and decisions necessary to underpin the UK's involvement in SMR development.
	Ultimately, it will be for industry to decide which technologies it wishes to develop and deploy, subject to the UK's robust regulatory regime. Government will continue to consider opportunities for the funding of research into SMR's alongside other technologies on a case by case basis.

Renewable Energy

Glyn Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps he is taking to ensure the UK meets its energy targets under the 2009 Renewable Energy Directive; and what the consequences would be if the UK did not meet this target.

Gregory Barker: Government is committed to meeting the UK target under the Renewable Energy Directive 2009/28/EC which requires 15% of our energy consumption to come from renewable sources by 2020. Actions to help achieve this are described in the UK Renewable Energy Roadmap(1) which was published in 2011, and updated in 2012(2) and 2013(3).
	Member states are also required under Article 22 of the Renewable Energy Directive to submit reports to the European Commission every two years on their progress in the promotion and use of energy from renewable sources. The deadline for the UK's first progress report was in December 2011(4) and the second report is due to be submitted by the end of this year.
	If the UK failed to meet its 2020 target under the Renewable Energy Directive, as with any other member state, infraction proceedings could be brought against it in the Court of Justice of the European Union.
	(1) UK Renewable Energy Roadmap (2011) at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/renewable-energy-roadmap
	(2) UK Renewable Energy Roadmap Update 2012 at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-renewable-energy-roadmap-update
	(3) UK Renewable Energy Roadmap Update 2013 at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-renewable-energy-roadmap-second-update
	(4) First Progress Report on the Promotion and Use of Energy from Renewable Sources by the UK (2011) at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/48264/3992-first-progress-report-on-the-promotion-and-use-of-.pdf

Renewable Energy: Feed-in Tariffs

Simon Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the average time taken to process solar PV feed-in tariff applications to Ofgem is.

Gregory Barker: DECC does not hold data on processing times for FITs applications. The scheme is administered by Ofgem, who maintain a necessarily robust online application process that ensures legislative requirements are met whilst opportunities for fraud are minimised. The time spent processing applications varies considerably on a case by case basis, and is largely driven by the promptness and quality of evidence submitted by applicants in response to Ofgem's queries.

Vacancies

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the churn rate was in his Department in the (a) consumers and households, (b) markets and infrastructure, (c) international, science and resilience and (d) finance and corporate services service areas in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13.

Gregory Barker: The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) reorganised its group structure in October 2013. Therefore no data exists for those groups prior to that date.
	The current Turnover rate for the DECC groups are set out as follows.
	
		
			 Group Turnover rate (Percentage) 
			 Consumers and Households 14 
			 Markets and Infrastructure 8 
			 International, Science and Resilience 13 
			 Finance and Corporate Services 13 
		
	
	The turnover rate for DECC at 31 March in each of the years requested is set out as follows:
	
		
			  Turnover rate (Percentage) 
			 2010-11 7 
			 2011-12 10 
			 2012-13 11 
			 2013-present 11

Wind Power

Glyn Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many TWh of electricity (a) are currently produced and (b) is expected to be in production in 2020 by (i) onshore and (ii) offshore wind power.

Michael Fallon: In 2012, 12.1 TWh of electricity was generated from onshore wind and 7.5 TWh from offshore wind, see DUKES 6.4, available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/renewable-sources-of-energy-chapter-6-digest-of-united-kingdom-energy-statistics-dukes
	The proportion of electricity generation delivered by any technology in the future is uncertain as it depends on a range of factors—for example, future technology costs. The most recent illustrative scenarios for contributions from different electricity generation technologies between now and 2030 were published in July 2013 as part of the consultation on the draft Electricity Market Reform Delivery Plan. The scenarios include low and high estimates of 23 TWh to 28 TWh(1) of onshore wind in 2020 and 24 TWh to 52 TWh(2) of offshore wind in 2020. These figures are calculated on a GB (not UK) basis; see table 6.1.4 available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/223655/emr_consultation_annex_e.pdf
	This analysis will be updated as part of the final EMR Delivery Plan.
	(1) Based on high and low technology costs respectively.
	(2) Based on '32% renewables in 2020' scenario and 'high offshore' scenario respectively.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Discrimination

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many complaints of discrimination related to pregnancy or maternity have been lodged against employees of her Department or its executive agencies by (a) current employees and (b) prospective employees in each of the last five years; and how many such complaints resulted in disciplinary action.

Helen Grant: Our records show there have been no complaints related to pregnancy or maternity lodged against employees of my Department.
	The Department does not hold records of complaints against its executive agencies.

Football

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will establish a licensing system to regulate football clubs in England and Wales; and if she will make a statement.

Helen Grant: Regulation of football clubs in England and Wales is a matter for the respective football associations. In England, we continue to press the football authorities to introduce a licensing system for clubs which deals effectively with issues such as financial sustainability and supporter engagement.

Gambling: Crime

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment her Department has made of effectiveness of the Gambling Act 2005 in preventing gambling from being (a) a source of crime or disorder, (b) associated with crime or disorder or (c) used to support crime.

Helen Grant: In monitoring the licensing objectives of the Gambling Act 2005, which include keeping crime out of gambling, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport looks to the Gambling Commission for advice. To ensure the licensing objectives are met the Commission places obligations on gambling operators and works closely with law enforcement agencies to tackle gambling-related crime such as corrupt sports betting and money laundering. Evidence to the Culture, Media and Sport Committee (as part of their 2012 report on the Gambling Act 2005, “A Bet Worth Taking”) indicated that gambling related crime is being controlled. The Committee concluded that the Gambling Act has not led to any significant change in the levels of crime and disorder associated with the gambling industry.

Internet: Suicide

William McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will take steps to ensure that internet companies block material online that encourages suicide.

Edward Vaizey: Government favours a multi-stakeholder approach to the internet, rooted in self-regulation; it is not for Government to tell media organisations whether they can publish certain content, beyond that what is illegal.
	However, where websites include content which may encourage suicide, Government expects those websites to act responsibly, for example by having robust processes in place for addressing content which contravenes acceptable use policies and by listening, and responding, to the concerns of their users.
	In addition, the Prime Minister announced, following his summit of 18 November, that the four largest internet service providers will shortly be delivering network-level family-friendly filters. Categories giving parents the opportunity to filter suicide or self-harm content will be offered by the majority of the ISPs.

Sports: Females

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what comparative assessment her Department has made of the performance of comparable countries in increasing and maintaining the participation of girls in sport; and what steps her Department is taking to deploy international best practice in this area in the UK.

Helen Grant: Standardised physical activity data will be available for countries across Europe for the first time in 2014. This will help us review our progress in relation to other countries. In addition, from 2014, sports participation data for EU member states will be collected through the European Health Interview Survey.

Travel

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the cost of travel within the UK was for her Department in each year since 2010; and how much of this was spent on (a) hire cars, (b) helicopter hire, (c) hotel accommodation and (d) subsistence.

Helen Grant: The Department spent the following amounts on travel and subsistence within the UK, including use of the Government car service and other car services:
	
		
			  £ 
			 2010-11 181,615 
			 2011-12 241,291 
			 2012-13 443,104 
		
	
	By way of context, this compares with the following figures in the years immediately prior:
	
		
			  £ 
			 2008-09 525,717 
			 2009-10 533,649 
		
	
	The increased costs in 2012-13 are largely as a result of the costs incurred by the Government Olympic Executive, during preparations for and delivery of London 2012. These figures also include functions transferred from the Department for Business Innovation and Skills from 2011-12 but do not include costs relating to the Government Equalities Office, which transferred to the Department in April 2013.
	Further detail could be provided only at disproportionate cost due to the way that these records are stored in the Department's financial systems.

JUSTICE

Atos Origin

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much his Department has spent on contracts with Atos in each year since 2008.

Shailesh Vara: The MOJ contracts with Atos are for:
	1. To support HMCTS ICT Systems—this includes desktop provision and support, wide area and local area networks, network integration, hosting of application technology including Data Centre plus applications development and support.
	2. The provision of Occupational Health Services (OHS) and Employee Assistance Programme (EAP).
	The Department has spent the following amounts on contracts with Atos for each (financial) year since 2008:
	
		
			 Total spend per FY 
			  £ 
			 2008-09 89,621,264 
			 2009-10 107,014,303 
			 2010-11 116,397,878 
			 2011-12 127,226,797 
			 2012-13 109,280,869 
			 2013-14 (April to September) 47,937,372 
		
	
	The spend figures reflect that the MOJ has one of the largest workforces and estates in Government to support. However the reduction in spend since 2012 is the result of us making our estate smaller and more efficient.
	By reducing the size of our estate, the Ministry of Justice is contributing to cross-Government savings and ensuring that we get best value for taxpayers.

Community Orders

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent progress he has made on improving community sentences.

Jeremy Wright: The Government has made good progress in ensuring that community sentences are more effective and is committed to ensuring that they both punish and rehabilitate offenders. We have already given courts the power to impose longer and more intensive curfews, and given courts greater flexibility to impose programme and treatment requirements. Community payback now starts as soon as possible when a sentence is passed, and unemployed offenders are sent to work for four out of five days. Provisions in the Crime and Courts Act 2013 will in future ensure that all community orders contain a punitive element, and give courts a new power to track offenders' whereabouts.
	As part of our Transforming Rehabilitation reforms, low and medium-risk offenders serving community sentences will be supervised by a wide range of possible rehabilitation providers across all sectors, from SME and larger private sector organisations to potential mutuals and organisations in the VCSE sector. Providers will have the tools they need to address offenders' needs and require them to engage.
	Provisions in the Offender Rehabilitation Bill will introduce a new Rehabilitation Activity Requirement for community orders and suspended sentence orders which, where it has been imposed by the court, will give providers discretion to require offenders to participate in rehabilitative activities.

Community Orders: Greater London

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  if he will publish data on monthly performance targets and outcomes for the Community Payback scheme operating in London since Serco took over the contract for that scheme;
	(2)  how many complaints have been received against the Community Payback scheme in London since Serco's contract to operate the scheme began.

Jeremy Wright: The information requested could not be obtained within the time scale. I will write to the right hon. Member in due course.

Crime: Victims

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of progress in implementing the requirements of the European Directive on Victims Rights by December 2015.

Damian Green: The Government is making progress in implementing the requirements of the EU Victims' Directive. I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 4 November 2013, Official Report, column 53W.
	The Government is making a full assessment of the EU Victims' Directive prior to its implementation date in November 2015. The Government wrote to the Reducing Regulation Committee in November 2012 with an early transposition plan. A full impact assessment and transposition table will be completed closer to the implementation date. The directive will be transposed in line with domestic policy aims through changes to national law through secondary legislation and statutory codes. This includes transposing part of the directive in the new victims' code. Further information about how the directive is reflected in the new victims' code can be found in the accompanying impact assessment and Government response document:
	https://consult.justice.gov.uk/digital-communications/code-victims-crime

Domestic Violence

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many perpetrators of domestic violence received a police caution in each year since 2010; and what proportion of domestic violence incidents resulted in a caution in each such year.

Damian Green: Information held centrally by the Ministry of Justice extracted from the police national computer does not include the circumstances behind each case beyond the description provided in the statute. It is not possible to separately identify from this centrally held information cautions given to perpetrators for the offence of domestic violence from other cautions given for offences of assault and violence against the person. As such, this information is available only at disproportionate costs. Guidance published by the Ministry of Justice makes it clear that simple cautions should not be ordinarily used to dispose of offences involving domestic abuse.

Employment Tribunals Service

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many employment tribunal fee remission applications have been (a) granted in full, (b) partially granted and (c) refused since the introduction of the scheme; and how much total remissions have cost to date.

Shailesh Vara: Data concerning outcomes of fee remission applications made, in employment tribunal cases and in other court and tribunal jurisdictions, are not routinely published. To obtain the information requested requires interrogation of the employment tribunals' fees and remission database, and quality assurance checks on that data to ensure it is accurate, reliable and in a form suitable for publication. I have asked my officials to undertake this work, and I will write to the hon. Member as soon as I am able.

Human Rights

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much his Department has spent on legal advice, representation and support in third party claims brought against the Department under the Human Rights Act 1998 since that Act entered into force.

Damian Green: The Ministry of Justice deals with a large number of cases every year and litigants may rely on arguments based wholly or partly on the Human Rights Act 1998. In most cases, the 1998 Act is relied on in addition to other claims.
	The Treasury Solicitor's Department's records do not historically distinguish between cases where the 1998 Act is invoked from cases where it is not. Consequently, it is not possible to indicate how much the Department has spent on legal advice, representation and support in such cases.

Intestacy

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many extensions to family provision claims have been granted by the courts in each of the last five years.

Shailesh Vara: Family provision claims are made in the county courts providing the limit for the claim does not exceed the county court threshold. They can also be made in the Chancery Division or the Family Division of the High Court. These claims are made in accordance with the Civil and Family Procedure Rules and claimants are required to apply using the standard claims procedure depending on the remedy sought. The information requested is not held by MOJ because there is no legal or business requirement to do so and such information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Magistrates' Courts: Wrexham

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he has met the Chair of Wrexham Magistrates' Court Bench in the last 12 months.

Shailesh Vara: The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, my right hon. Friend the Member for Epsom and Ewell (Chris Grayling), has not met with the Chair of Wrexham magistrates court in an official capacity.

National Offender Management Service

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice for what reasons the National Offender Management Service is not providing details of the terms of conditions of (a) staff at HM Prison Northumberland, (b) their union representatives and (c) Sodexo Justice Services; and if he will make a statement.

Jeremy Wright: NOMS does not hold an exhaustive list of each member of staffs' terms and conditions and the agency is not required to do so under the Transfer of Undertakings: Protection of Employment (TUPE) Regulations. Ultimately it is for the courts to determine what is or is not a contractual obligation, and the fact that there is no definitive list of terms and conditions (express and implied) for every member of staff does not diminish in any way the protections provided by the TUPE Regulations.

Parole

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many offenders currently in the multi-agency public protection arrangements system are considered (a) high risk, (b) medium risk and (c) low risk.

Jeremy Wright: Information about the risk levels of offenders currently under MAPPA is not collected and could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.
	The MOJ publishes data on MAPPA annually. The bulletin includes figures on the numbers of offenders who are managed at each of the three levels of MAPPA management. There is no direct link between the level at which an offender is managed under MAPPA and the offender's assessed level of risk of harm. Offenders will be managed at Level 1 where the risk does not require co-ordination at multi-agency meetings, at Level 2, where the complexity of the case requires multi-agency representation and at Level 3 where the complexity requires senior representation from various agencies.
	The most recent report was published on 31 October 2013 and may be found at the following web address:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/multi-agency-public-protection-arrangements-mappa-annual-reports

Parole

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many offenders have been released by the Parole Board in each of the last five years.

Jeremy Wright: The numbers of releases directed by the Parole Board in each of the last five years for which figures are available are shown in the following tables.
	Releases of indeterminate sentence prisoners (ISPs) are published annually and quarterly in MOJ statistical publications. ISPs may be released only once they have completed the minimum period of imprisonment for the purposes of punishment and deterrence set by the court and only where the Parole Board is satisfied that it is no longer necessary, on the grounds of public protection, for them to be detained in custody.
	
		
			  ISP releases 
			 2008 174 
			 2009 195 
			 2010 258 
			 2011 534 
			 2012 733 
		
	
	The most recent annual table may be found at the following web address:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/offender-management-statistics-quarterly--2
	Releases of determinate sentence prisoners that the Parole Board has responsibility for considering are published in their Annual Report. This may be found at the following web address:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/publications/corporate-reports/parole-board/parole-board-annual-report-2012-2013.pdf
	
		
			  Determinate sentence releases directed by the Parole Board 
			 2008-09 695 
			 2009-10 309 
			 2010-11 263 
			 2011-12 167 
			 2012-13 165

Prisoners

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average annual cost per prisoner is (a) for each prison and (b) in total.

Jeremy Wright: As part of the Government's Transparency Agenda, the Department routinely publishes full details of average costs per prisoner and place, based on actual net resource expenditure for each private and public sector prison and in summary form for the whole of the prison estate in England and Wales after the end of the financial year. The information for financial years 2012-13 is published as an Addendum to the NOMS Annual Report and Accounts and available on the Department's website at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/prison-and-probation-trusts-performance-statistics-201213
	Copies of all previous similar information are also placed in the House Library.
	The Government is committed to delivering reform in our public services. The Prison Competition Phase One Programme will deliver efficiency savings, in line with other public sector prisons, over the next four years.

Prisoners: Rehabilitation

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps his Department takes to ensure that prisoner rehabilitation does not affect the safety of the general public.

Jeremy Wright: Our Transforming Rehabilitation strategy, published on 9 May, sets out our plans for transforming the way in which offenders are managed in the community in order to bring down reoffending rates.
	Public safety remains our top priority. The new National Probation Service will have responsibility for protecting the public from the most dangerous offenders, and will be responsible for risk assessing all offenders who are supervised in the community.
	New providers of rehabilitation services will be expected to work in partnership with the National Probation Service and local partners to contribute to public protection and reform offenders.
	We are taking a phased approach to implementation of the new system and are working closely with probation trusts to minimise any disruption to the work they do to protect the public.

Prisons: Education

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  on which occasions he and Ministers in his Department have met counterparts from the Department for Education to discuss prison education since May 2010;
	(2)  when he and his ministerial colleagues have met representatives of the Skills Funding Agency to discuss education in prisons since May 2010.

Jeremy Wright: I work closely with ministerial colleagues on the issue of education and skills in prisons, which I regard as a high priority in supporting our rehabilitation reforms. This includes meetings with ministerial colleagues on the following dates:
	
		
			 Minister Date 
			 Edward Timpson 22 April 2013 
			  10 October 2013 
			   
			 Matthew Hancock 12 November 2012 
			  9 October 2013 
		
	
	My predecessor, my hon. Friend the Member for Reigate (Mr Blunt), also held meetings with ministerial colleagues on the following dates:
	
		
			 Minister Date 
			 John Hayes 15 December 2010 
			  28 April 2011 
			   
			 Matthew Hancock 19 January 2012 
		
	
	The Department publishes quarterly meetings between Ministers and all external organisations. Quarters from 2010 to September 2013 can be found at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications

Probation

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps he is taking to ensure that private providers of probation services will still be accountable to Parliament, local authorities and other elected representatives of communities.

Jeremy Wright: As is currently the case, the chief executive of the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) will be accountable to Parliament for providers’ delivery of probation services. The reformed system will be regulated and held to account through a combination of independent inspection, audit and account management by NOMS.
	The independent Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Probation will inspect services delivered by both the National Probation Service and contracted sectors. The National Offender Management Service will hold the new Community Rehabilitation Companies to account and ensure the overall system performs in line with the objectives and priorities set out by ministers and the Department.
	Providers will need to engage with statutory and non-statutory partnerships and the NOMS account management function will monitor local partnership working as part of its role in obtaining assurance of the delivery of services, liaising with Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) and other relevant partners as necessary.
	In terms of value for the taxpayer, future providers will only be paid in full if they actually reduce reoffending.

Public Bodies: Appeals

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will take steps to ensure that independent appeal procedures are in place in respect of all decisions taken by public bodies.

Shailesh Vara: Different forms of recourse are appropriate for different types of decision and the Government seeks generally to ensure that appropriate recourse is in place in accordance with legal requirements. The Government is not proposing any particular steps in the context of this question.
	The resolution of disputes between the citizen and the state falls under the umbrella of administrative justice. The Government's approach to administrative justice is set out in the Administrative Justice Strategic Work Programme which can be found at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/administrative-justice-and-tribunals-a-strategic-work-programme-2013-16

UK Membership of EU

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will make an assessment of the costs and benefits of a decision for Britain to leave the EU in his Department's area of responsibility; and if he will make a statement.

Damian Green: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Wolverhampton North East (Emma Reynolds), on 29 January 2013, Official Report, column 709W. It is not the policy of this Government to leave the EU, the Department has not made any plans for the UK's withdrawal from the EU.

Victim Support Schemes

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how much he intends to spend on each type of victim's service in (a) 2013-14 and (b) 2014-15;
	(2)  how much his Department spent on each type of victims service in (a) 2009-10, (b) 2010-11, (c) 2011-12 and (d) 2012-13.

Damian Green: The Ministry of Justice currently provides more than £50 million funding for services supporting victims of crime. Victim Support receives £38 million of this funding with the remainder distributed to support a range of specialist services including rape support centres, services for adult victims of human trafficking and homicide support.
	From 2014-15 onwards more money than ever before will be available for victims' services, with a current forecast spend of at least £75 million. From October 2014 police and crime commissioners will start to commission the majority of services for victims and witnesses, including victim-led restorative justice, based on local priorities and consistent with the requirements of the Victims' Code.
	The following table shows spend on each type of victims' service by the Ministry of Justice since 2009-10. The column for 2013-14 is based on our current financial forecast, with a potential future total budget of up to £100 million:
	
		
			 £ million 
			  2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14(1) 
			 Victim support -core funding for the Witness Service, Community Service and Support line and Victim Support Homicide Service (including the National Homicide Fund 2010-11 only) 38.2 (2)44.25 38.22 38.03 38.25 
			 Homicide services 0.15 0.42 0.54 0.57 0.6 
			 Sexual violence and domestic violence 1.24 2.11 7.3 7.52 7.7 
			 Trafficking 0.91 I.35 1.5 1.93 2.1 
			 Road traffic 0.03 0.05 0.28 0.26 0.24 
			 Hate crime  0.25 0.76 0.76 0.78 
			 Victim and Witness General Fund (anti-social behaviour, robbery and non specified crime) — — 0.62 0.6 0.67 
			 Police and crime commissioners (PCCs) to prepare for local commissioning and restorative justice — — — — 18 
			 Restorative justice (non-PCCs) — — — — 1.15 
			 Total 40.53 48.43 49.22 49.67 69.49 
			 (1) Forecast (2) The increase in funding in 2010-11 relates to a one off homicide fund in that year for Victim Support.

Young Offenders

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average number of cautions received by a young offender was before receiving a custodial sentence in each year since 2009-10.

Damian Green: The Government introduced a rationalised youth out of court framework in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012. This consists of the youth caution and the youth conditional caution and came into effect for offences committed from 8 April 2013. The youth equivalent of a caution prior to this date was a reprimand or warning as reflected in the table.
	The average number of previous cautions for those young offenders sentenced to custody for the first time has decreased by 18%. On average, 1.07 previous cautions were received by an offender prior to their first custodial sentence in the 12 month period ending March 2013, compared to 1.3 previous cautions in the same period ending March 2009.
	
		
			 Table 1: Number of juvenile offenders sentenced to their first custodial sentence for any offence, by year, number of and average previous reprimands or warnings(1), for 12 month period ending March, 2009 to 2013 
			  Number of juveniles sentenced to custody for first time  
			 Year to end of March Total No previous reprimands/warnings(1) With one previous reprimand/warning With two previous reprimands/warnings With three or more previous reprimands/warnings Average number of previous reprimands/warnings 
			 2009 3,996 874 1,317 1,553 252 1.303 
			 2010 3,200 741 1,036 1,234 189 1.282 
			 2011 2,855 700 886 1,083 186 1.274 
			 2012 2,684 787 836 943 118 1.149 
			 2013 1,637 555 502 502 78 1.066 
			 (1 )Previous reprimand/warning count is based on number of previous occasions a reprimand or warning was given, where multiple reprimand warnings are given on the same occasions, the primary offence is used. Source: Ministry of Justice (Police National Computer)

Young Offenders

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the current occupancy rate is in young offender institutions.

Jeremy Wright: In the data supplied in the following answer we have separated the capacity, of those (i) young offender institutions holding solely young offenders aged 15-18 years old and (ii) young offender institutions holding solely young adults aged 18-21 years old, as we do not mix these age groups for purposes of security and protection.
	Where young offender institutions operate a dual function; ie in holding a mixture of young people (aged 15 to 18 years old) and young offenders (aged 18 to 21 years old) in separate accommodation, these capacities have been accordingly separated in the following tables.
	At sites that perform a dual function holding young offenders (aged 18 to 21 years old) alongside adults, the information for these prisons has not been included.
	Table 1 details the occupancy levels of young offender institutions on 25 October 2013 where the sole function is to hold in custody young people aged 15 to 18 years old.
	
		
			 Table 1: Occupancy rates in Youth Justice Board (YJB) operated young offender institutions on 25 October 2013 
			 YJB (15-18) 
			 Prison Operational capacity Population Occupancy (percentage) 
			 Cookham Wood 143 114 80 
			 Feltham 240 190 79 
			 Hindley(1) 438 144 33 
			 Warren Hill(2) 192 81 42 
			 Werrington 160 104 65 
			 Wetherby(1) 276 240 87 
			 (1 )In July the YJB announced plans to decommission 192 places at Hindley and 120 places at Wetherby. The operational capacity at Wetherby has already been reduced by 120 places in light of this decision. The operational capacity at Hindley will be reduced early in 2014. The occupancy levels at Hindley are currently being reduced in line with its planned reduction in operational capacity. (2) In September it was announced that Warren Hill would change function to hold adult offenders, as a result the population at this site is being reduced in preparation for this change. 
		
	
	Table 2 details the occupancy levels of young offender institutions on 25 October 2013 where the sole function is to hold in custody young adults aged 18-21 years.
	
		
			 Table 2: Occupancy rates in National Offender Management Service young offender institutions on 25 October 2013 
			 YOI (18-21) 
			 Prison Operational capacity Population Occupancy (percentage) 
			 Aylesbury 444 443 100 
			 Brinsford 577 563 98 
			 Deerbolt 513 501 98 
			 Feltham 522 494 95 
			 Glen Parva 808 799 99 
			 Lancaster Farms 531 516 97 
		
	
	The operational capacity is the total number of prisoners that an establishment can hold taking into account control, security and the proper operation of the planned regime. It is determined by senior operational prison managers on the basis of operational judgement and experience.

Young Offenders: Reoffenders

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what early intervention measures he has introduced to reduce young offending since May 2010.

Jeremy Wright: The Ministry of Justice is fully committed to preventing young people from committing offences and to supporting cross-government initiatives to provide families and young people with the support they need to achieve this. This includes supporting the families of offenders in order to reduce inter-generational crime.
	We work closely with other Government Departments to prevent young people entering the system, including through the Troubled Families programme, which aims to turn around the lives of 120,000 of the country's most troubled families by 2015.

Youth Offending Teams: South West

Robert Syms: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the Bournemouth and Poole Youth Offending Service.

Jeremy Wright: The YJB monitors YOTs against performance outcome indicators using youth first time entrants (FTEs) to the youth justice system and proven re-offending data. The latest published figures can be found on the GOV.UK website:
	FTEs:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/criminal-justice-statistics-quarterly-june-2013
	Proven re-offending:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/254188/proven-reoffending-jan11-dec11-tables.xls
	(Table 17 A1)
	YOTs are also inspected by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Probation (HMI Probation) an independent, Ministry of Justice funded, inspectorate. Previously HMI Probation inspected every YOT on a three year rolling basis, however HMI Probation have recently moved to a risk-led approach in inspecting YOTs. The most recent inspection of Bournemouth and Poole Youth YOT by HMI Probation took place in 2012, the report for which can be accessed here:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/publications/inspectorate-reports/hmiprobation/youth-inspection-reports/core-case/bournemouth-poole-cci.pdf

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Allotments

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what help his Department provides to people who want to start an allotment.

Stephen Williams: Local authorities have a specific responsibility for the management and provision of allotments in their area, ensuring those who want to start an allotment can do so.
	However, the Government has introduced a range of measures to help communities who want land to grow fruit and vegetables. Through the community rights, communities have increased opportunities to protect existing allotments from development and increase provision of green spaces. In Thame, in Oxfordshire, the new Neighbourhood plan will create an additional hectare of allotment land. Allotments have also been listed as assets of community value. We have also published guidance for community groups wanting to find land to grow fruit and vegetables. This is available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/space-for-food-growing-a-guide
	More information about the community rights can be found in ‘You've Got the Power’, available to download at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/youve-got-the-power-a-quick-and-simple-guide-to-community-rights
	Guidance about establishing community orchards and other spaces for food growing can be found at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/news/helping-to-meet-a-growing-demand-new-guide-to-help-community-orchards-blossom
	https://www.gov.uk/government/news/planting-the-seeds-for-community-grown-food

Council Housing

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what comparative assessment his Department makes of the quality of service delivery by local authority arms length management organisations and other forms of ownership and management of council housing.

Kris Hopkins: The Department makes no comparative assessment of the quality of service delivery between arm's length management organisations and other forms of management of council housing. We have strengthened the ability of social tenants to hold their landlords to account locally and in so doing drive improvements in the quality of service they receive. For example, the Tenant Involvement and Empowerment Standard has been strengthened to ensure landlords offer opportunities to tenants to scrutinise landlords' performance, and agree with tenants the information they need to hold landlords to account.

Councillors: Business Interests

George Galloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what guidance his Department gives on the obligations on local councillors not to engage in potentially financially profitable contracts with the local authorities of which such councillors are members;
	(2)  what information his Department holds on which local authorities have codes of conduct for councillors which restrict or prohibit purchases of property or land by local councillors from the councils of which they are members where that land or property is not intended to be lived in by that councillor but would be rented or sold on.

Brandon Lewis: The Department has published a plain English guide for councillors on ‘Openness and transparency on personal interests’ which is available online at:
	www.gov.uk/government/publications/openness-and-transparency-on-personal-interests-guidance-for-councillors
	Whilst councillors may enter into contracts with their local authority, the Localism Act 2011 provides that (unless they have been granted an explicit dispensation, as outlined under the Act) they must not take part in the business of the authority relating to such contracts as this would be a conflict of interest. It is a criminal offence for a councillor to knowingly or recklessly provide false or misleading information on their disclosable pecuniary interests, or to participate in the business of their local authority where that business involves a disclosable pecuniary interest.
	The Department for Communities and Local Government does not hold copies of councils' local codes of conduct, but councils are required to make them publicly available, and we would expect them to be accessible on councils' websites.
	My Department published an illustrative code to assist local councils in drawing up their local codes. Based on the seven principles of public life, we suggested that the code could contain a provision that councillors 'must act solely in the public interest and should never improperly confer an advantage or disadvantage on any person or act to gain financial or other material benefits for yourself, your family, a friend or close associate' and also 'when carrying out your public duties you must make all choices, such as making public appointments, awarding contracts or recommending individuals for rewards or benefits, on merit.'
	Councillors should be aware of the provisions of the Bribery Act 2010, which incorporate rules on the prevention of corruption and 'improper performance' by public officials. In that context, councillors, in the circumstances that the hon. Member outlines in his questions, would be wise to be keep to the letter and spirit of these principles of public life.

Homelessness: Foreign Nationals

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many and what proportion of households receiving assistance from local authorities in London under the homelessness provisions of the Housing Act 1996 in 2012-13 were foreign nationals; and what the reasons were for their eligibility for such assistance.

Kris Hopkins: The information requested is set out in the following table.
	
		
			 Statutory homelessness: reasons for eligibility of accepted foreign national households London, 2012-13 
			 Reason for eligibility Number/percentage of households 
			 Indefinite leave to remain in or enter the UK 1,700 
			 European Economic Area applicant with worker status 1,120 
			 Granted other protection leave (eg humanitarian protection, discretionary leave, exceptional leave to remain) 470 
		
	
	
		
			 Granted refugee status 350 
			 Accession national subject to Home Office Worker Registration or Worker Authorisation Scheme 70 
			 Self-employed 30 
			 Other 750 
			 Total 4,490 
			   
			 Total number of homelessness acceptances in London 15,450 
			   
			 Foreign nationals as a percentage of all acceptances, London 29 
			 Note: Figures are rounded to the nearest 10 and include estimates for non-responding local authorities. Source: Quarterly P1E returns 
		
	
	I note that separate CHAIN data has indicated that the majority of London's rough sleepers are foreign nationals.
	These figures-and almost a third of those households accepted as homeless in London are foreigners-endorse the need for strong controls on immigration and backs up the Government's agenda of addressing the 'pull' factors that previously led to unsustainable impacts on this country.
	My Department's activities have included education campaigns led by the voluntary sector warning those coming here without appropriate support about the dangers of ending up destitute and sleeping rough on our streets.

Homeswap Direct

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people have (a) visited the Homeswap Direct website and (b) moved home through using Homeswap Direct in each month since April 2012.

Kris Hopkins: ‘HomeSwap’ Direct, the national home swap scheme, was launched in October 2011 to increase opportunities for tenants who wish to move home through a mutual exchange by allowing them to see details of every available property. The scheme has operated very successfully since its launch, with tenants carrying out over 10 million searches of the property data held on ‘HomeSwap’ Direct.
	Details of the number of moves that have taken place under the ‘HomeSwap’ Direct scheme in England are not held centrally.

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing

Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will estimate the number of households subject to the under-occupancy penalty in (a) Liverpool and (b) Liverpool Riverside constituency that have fallen into rent arrears since the introduction of that policy.

Kris Hopkins: I refer the hon. Member to my answer today, PQ 176300.

Housing: Electrical Safety

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate his Department is collecting on the effect of the changes made to Part P of Building Regulations covering domestic electrical work adopted in April 2013.

Stephen Williams: The Department's estimates of the effects of the changes made to Part P of the Building Regulations are set out in detail in the Impact Assessment. This is available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/building-regulations-part-p-electrical-safety-in-dwellings
	In due course we plan to review trends in electrical accident rates in dwellings by analysing fire data collected by the Department, electric shock fatality data published by the Office for National Statistics, and data collected by the NHS on attendances at accident and emergency departments. We shall also look at other indicators, including the numbers registered with Part P competent person schemes.

Housing: Electrical Safety

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps he is taking to ensure that household electrical installation work undertaken by trades people meets the minimum safety standards.

Stephen Williams: All electrical installation work undertaken by a trades person, or any other person, must comply with Part P of the Building Regulations, which sets out minimum safety standards. These requirements are enforced by local authorities.
	Installers registered with a competent person scheme are authorised to self-certify their work as compliant with the Building Regulations. Scheme operators monitor the competence of their registered installers by carrying out periodic assessments of their work, in line with the Department's conditions of authorisation for such schemes. These can be viewed at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/competent-person-schemes-conditions-of-authorisation

Housing: Electrical Safety

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will review the household awareness of electrical safety of changes to Part P of building regulations covering domestic electrical work in April 2013.

Stephen Williams: The Department recently issued updated guidance for householders on building work. This draws attention to the benefits of using competent person schemes including those covering electrical safety and is available at:
	www.gov.uk/building-work-replacements-and-repairs-to-your-home
	The Department's new conditions of authorisation require competent person scheme operators to promote awareness of their schemes. The Department also continues to work with electrical safety bodies on raising awareness of the importance of electrical safety and advantages of using competent installers.

Housing: Hampshire

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  how many social housing units have been built in Hart District Council area in each of the last three years;
	(2)  how many council houses were built in East Hampshire District Council area in the last three years until August 2013;
	(3)  how many council houses were built in Rushmoor Borough Council area in the last three years until August 2013;
	(4)  how many council houses were built in Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council area in the three years until August 2013;
	(5)  how many council houses were built in Hart District Council area in the three years until August 2013;
	(6)  how many social housing units have been built in each of the last three years in Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council area;
	(7)  how many social housing units have been built in each of the last three years in East Hampshire District Council area;
	(8)  how many social housing units have been built in each of the last three years in Rushmoor Borough Council area.

Kris Hopkins: The Department publishes annual figures covering additional housing for social rent (table 1006) and affordable rent (table 1006b) by local authority area. These tables can be used to estimate the delivery of social housing and can be found here:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-affordable-housing-supply
	These data include delivery by both local authorities (council housing) and by private registered providers (housing associations). They include both new built and acquired social housing.

Local Government: Property

George Galloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  whether local authorities are obliged to accept the highest bidder for property they wish to sell;
	(2)  what guidance his Department gives to councils on advertising publicly property they wish to sell;
	(3)  what guidance his Department gives to local authorities on the disposal of property they wish to sell.

Brandon Lewis: It is for local authorities to decide how to make best use of their assets, including whether to dispose of under-utilised assets. Local authorities might judge that by reducing their asset base they can reduce running costs (and hence reduce the need for council tax rises for residents), help pay off debt or fund new infrastructure investment.
	In disposing of assets, local authorities should have regard to the statutory Best value guidance. Local authorities are not always obliged to sell assets to the highest bidder.
	In certain circumstances they are free to accept a lower offer where the lower price is offset by wider public benefits, for example, preserving local amenity. Local authorities must always act reasonably, though, and with due regard to their general fiduciary duty to taxpayers.
	As part of my Department's transparency agenda, my Department actively encourages councils to post contracts and tenders online, as well as its property asset register. Publicising surplus property for sale may certainly help councils achieve a better price and deliver value for money for taxpayers.

New Towns: South East

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what discussions his Department has had with outside experts and consultants on a part solution to the housing crisis in the south east of England by building an entirely new town.

Kris Hopkins: I refer my hon. Friend to my answer of 21 November 2013, Official Report, column 981-982W. In contrast to the last Administration, my Department has no plans to impose new towns on any part of the country. We are supporting locally-led development, both large and small, as I outlined in my answer.

Non-domestic Rates: Valuation

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many businesses in (a) Portsmouth South constituency, (b) Hampshire and (c) England are currently awaiting a determination from the Valuation Tribunal.

Brandon Lewis: As was the case under the last Administration, business rates appeals are listed in accordance with the Valuation Office Agency's programming protocols for dealing with appeals. The Valuation Tribunal Service lists for hearing those business rates appeals that have not been settled by the target date set by the Valuation Office Agency; this is the point when the negotiation period between the ratepayers and the Valuation Office Agency should end.
	The table shows the total number of appeals that Valuation Tribunal Service is aware of after that target date. Before the target date, the Valuation Office Agency may still be in discussion with the appellant with a view to resolving the issue.
	
		
			  Total outstanding after target date 
			  Listed Not yet listed 
			 Portsmouth city council 11 254 
			 Hampshire 195 1,983 
			 England 17,517 74,495 
		
	
	Figures are not recorded by parliamentary constituency, but by billing authority area.
	The postponement of the 2015 rates revaluation has allowed the Valuation Office Agency to allocate more resources to clearing appeals. The agency cleared 24% more appeals than in the previous year (224,000 in England in 2012-13, up from 181,000 in 2011-12). The number of outstanding rating appeals has fallen in six successive quarters.
	Three quarters of all appeals to the 2010 list which have been decided to date have resulted in no change to the rateable value.
	Notwithstanding the extra resources being allocated to tackle the backlog thanks to the postponement of the 2015 revaluation, this Government wants to improve transparency in the valuation system, including improving the system for challenging rateable values. We are currently considering how best to do this, and will consult as appropriate.

Sheltered Housing

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people have been housed in sheltered accommodation in (a) Ribble Valley constituency, (b) Lancashire and (c) the UK in each of the last five years.

Kris Hopkins: holding answer 21 November 2013
	The number of households taking up supported housing tenancies in each district in Lancashire and nationally are shown in the following table for 2008- 2009 to 2012- 2013. Data are not available at constituency level.
	Supported housing is defined as housing with special design facilities or features, or designated for a particular client group. The majority—around 60%—of new lettings of supported housing in Lancashire are of supported housing designated for older people.
	
		
			 Supported housing lettings in Lancashire, 2008-09 to 2012-13 
			  2012-13 2011-12 2010-11 2009-10 2008-09 
			 Burnley 466 490 482 360 500 
			 Chorley 112 96 65 108 133 
			 Fylde 92 100 114 71 102 
			 Hyndburn 278 207 222 232 231 
			 Lancaster 330 240 229 159 182 
			 Pendle 289 228 179 144 133 
			 Preston 311 294 353 221 262 
			 Ribble Valley 78 98 74 81 36 
			 Rossendale 126 115 187 170 122 
			 South Ribble 222 210 268 213 245 
			 West Lancashire 335 206 213 216 194 
			 Wyre 64 69 58 40 122 
			 Lancashire County 2,703 2,353 2,444 2,015 2,262 
			 England 117,501 123,739 124,438 107,520 114,292 
			 Source: Continuous Recording of Lettings. New lettings to households in supported accommodation as reported by private registered providers and local authorities.

Social Rented Housing

George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many additional (a) bungalows, (b) one-bedroom houses, (c) two-bedroom houses and (d) three-bedroom houses have been listed as vacant by each registered social landlord in England and Wales since April 2013.

Kris Hopkins: My Department publishes information on the number of vacant local authority and private registered provider properties annually. The latest information by local authority district is on my Department's website:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/49764/20130111_Live_table_615.xls
	The next update is due in February 2014.
	Information on vacant properties by private registered provider is published by the Homes and Communities Agency on their website:
	http://www.homesandcommunities.co.uk/news/second-statistical-data-return
	The latest release was published in August 2013.
	I would note that the number of vacant housing association (general needs) dwelling in England has fallen from 33,451 in 2009 to 25,530 in 2012. The number of vacant local authority dwellings has similarly fallen from 34,555 in 2009 to 25,899 in 2012.
	This reflects the broader trend under this Government of more empty homes being brought back into productive use.

Social Rented Housing

George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the estimated cost of rent arrears accrued by each registered social landlord in England and Wales was in (a) April, (b) May, (c) June, (d) July, (e) August and (f) September 2013.

Kris Hopkins: The 2012 Global Accounts of Housing Providers, published by the social housing regulator in March 2013, show that private registered providers' tenant arrears at the end of the 2011-12 financial year were 4.8% in England:
	http://www.homesandcommunities.co.uk/sites/default/files/our-work/global_accounts_2012_full.pdf
	This is an improvement in performance on arrears compared to 2010-11, when they were 5.1%. The overall financial performance of the sector has also improved compared to the year before. The regulator will publish the Global Accounts for 2012-13 in spring 2014.
	The social housing regulator, the Homes and Communities Agency, publishes quarterly reports based on a survey of larger providers. I note that their latest report notes the removal of the spare room subsidy and states:
	“there is no indication of significant adverse performance in arrears, voids and rent collection compared with business plans for the majority of providers... two thirds of the providers report current tenant arrears below 5%; the sector average based on the latest annual accounts data is 4.8%. Over three-quarters report void losses of lower than 2% and the sector average is 1.75%. Rent collection figures show that over four fifths of providers report rent collection for the year to date to be in excess of 95%”.
	(Homes and Communities Agency, Quarterly Survey of Private Registered Providers 2013/14 Quarter 2, September 2013).
	Statistics are published annually on the total value of local authority social housing rent arrears, and were most recently published on my Department's website for 2011-12:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/73210/lahs-data-returns-for-2011-12.xls
	(Tab H of the spreadsheet)
	Data for 2012-13 will be available at the end of this year.

Social Rented Housing

George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the estimated annual income loss for each registered social landlord is in England and Wales as a consequence of the introduction of the spare room subsidy in 2013-14.

Kris Hopkins: The Department has not collected or made any such estimates.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Afghanistan

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 24 October 2013, Official Report, column 268W, on Afghanistan, what the total costs incurred by her Department investing in the Bost Airfield was.

Justine Greening: The Bost industrial business park proposal was originally approved by officials in 2009 at a time when Ministers did not approve spend under £40 million. In 2012 it became clear that the project could no longer be completed within the original timeframe and in good order. To avoid wasting taxpayers' money I decided that UK funding for the project should be cancelled. The completed park designs have been handed over to the Afghan authorities to enable them to pursue the project over a revised time frame.
	From August 2009 to October 2013, a total of £4.56 million was spent on the Bost Airfield project.

Afghanistan

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 24 October 2013, Official Report, column 321W, on Afghanistan, how many local businesses met officials of her Department prior to the completion of the park; and how many local people subsequently opened a business on the Agri-Park.

Justine Greening: The Bost industrial business park proposal was originally approved by officials in 2009 at a time when Ministers did not approve spend under £40 million. In 2012 it became clear that the project could no longer be completed within the original timeframe and in good order. To avoid wasting taxpayers' money I decided that UK funding for the project should be cancelled. The completed park designs have been handed over to the Afghan authorities to enable them to pursue the project over a revised time frame.
	DFID does not hold a record of the number of local businesses that met with officials in relation to this project. However DFID has been working closely with the Helmand National Investors' Association (previously the Helmand Business Association), which represents 20 local businesses, throughout the life of this and other projects.

Afghanistan

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 24 October 2013, Official Report, columns 267-8W, on Afghanistan, what proportion of the cost of that road-building programme was met by the (a) US and (b)  UK; and what the total amount spent by her Department on the UK's contribution to the programme was.

Justine Greening: The Bost industrial business park proposal was originally approved by officials in 2009 at a time when Ministers did not approve spend under £40 million. In 2012 it became clear that the project could no longer be completed within the original timeframe and in good order. To avoid wasting taxpayers' money I decided that UK funding for the project should be cancelled. The completed park designs have been handed over to the Afghan authorities to enable them to pursue the project over a revised time frame.
	DFID spent £0.75 million on road building. DFID is not able to provide details of US spending on this programme.

Developing Countries: Nutrition

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  how she plans to spend the money pledged at the Nutrition for Growth summit over the next three years;
	(2)  how much of the money pledged by the Government at the Nutrition for Growth summit has been spent; what the details of that expenditure are; and if she will make a statement.

Justine Greening: The Department for International Development is reviewing its nutrition portfolio to ensure that new programmes are complementary with existing spend, maximise results and impact and are good value for money. DFID spend on these commitments will be reported on an annual basis from 2014.

Somalia

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what progress she has made on the cross-departmental plan to develop new mechanisms for the UK-Somalia money-transfer market.

Justine Greening: The HMG Action Group on Cross Border Remittances is being established in accordance with the written ministerial statement laid down in Parliament on 10 October 2013, Official Report, columns 29-30W, by the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, my hon. Friend the Member for Bromsgrove (Sajid Javid). It will incorporate a working group tasked with developing a safe corridor pilot to ensure the continued flow of remittances to Somalia through secure, legitimate and accessible channels.
	Progress is on track against the one-year timetable set out in the written ministerial statement.

HEALTH

Ambulance Services

Therese Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of ambulance performance at clinical commissioning group level of administration.

Jane Ellison: The information requested is not collected centrally. The NHS England Ambulance Quality Indicators Data are not collected at clinical commissioning group level.

Asthma

Stephen McPartland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what steps his Department is taking to reduce deaths from asthma;
	(2)  what estimate his Department has made of the annual number of preventable deaths from asthma.

Jane Ellison: Through the Mandate, we have asked NHS England to make measurable improvements in reducing mortality for people with respiratory diseases, including asthma. Deaths from asthma have plateaued at between 1,000 and 1,200 deaths a year since 2000 and it is estimated that 90% of deaths are associated with preventable factors.
	To improve outcomes for asthma patients, in July 2011 we published, ‘An outcomes strategy for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma in England’, which set out the ways in which we will meet our aim of delivering health care outcomes for people with COPD and asthma as good as anywhere in the world.
	The strategy set out an objective to: ensure all people with asthma are free of symptoms because of prompt and accurate diagnosis; ensure that they are involved in shared decision making regarding treatment; and ensure that they receive on-going support as they self-manage their own condition and so reduce need for unscheduled health care and risk of death. The strategy can be found at:
	www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/216139/dh_128428.pdf
	In May 2012 we published the NHS Companion Document to the Outcomes Strategy. This uses the framework of the five domains of the NHS Outcomes Framework to describe the actions and interventions that the national health service can take to meet the objectives in the Outcomes Strategy for COPD and Asthma. Under each domain, the evidence for change to make improvements in outcomes is presented and the key actions that the NHS can take are given.

Barking, Havering and Redbridge Hospitals NHS Trust

Margaret Hodge: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was paid in compensation in maternity cases by Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust in each of the last five years; and how many claims are outstanding.

Daniel Poulter: The total amount of compensation paid in maternity cases by Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust consists of three elements:
	Payments made under the Clinical Negligence Scheme for Trusts (CNST) for claims settled in-year:
	Payments made under the CNST for claims where the trust has an ongoing obligation; and
	Payments made under the Existing Liabilities Scheme (ELS) where the trust has an ongoing obligation for incidents prior to 1 April 1995.
	The number and amount of payments made by the trust under CNST for claims settled in-year during each of the last five years are shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Year of closure Number of claims Damages paid (£) Average per claim (£) 
			 2008-09 9 99,000 11,000 
			 2009-10 11 740,000 67,360 
			 2010-11 18 242,815 13,490 
			 2011-12 13 3,958,500 304,500 
			 2012-13 27 1,682,220 62,340 
			 Total 78 6,723,497 86,199 
		
	
	The number and amount of payments made by the trust under CNST for claims where the trust has an ongoing obligation during each of the last five years are shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Year of settlement Number of claims O/S damages reserve (£) Damages paid (£) Total damages (£) Average total paid (£) 
			 2008-09 1 1,789,368 2,531,774 4,321,142 4,321,142 
			 2009-10 1 521,680 1,783,320 2,260,000 2,260,000 
			 2010-11 0 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 2011-12 1 4,594,999 2,255,001 6,850,000 6,850,000 
			 2012-13 2 8,788,112 6,842,773 15,630,885 7,815,443 
			 Total 5 15,694,160 13,367,867 25,062,027 5,812,405 
		
	
	The total amounts paid under ELS by the trust in each of the last five years are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  ELS amounts (£) 
			 2008-09 1,044,483 
			 2009-10 45,918 
			 2010-11 27,726 
			 2011-12 1,776,753 
			 2012-13 144,143 
			 Totals 3,039,023 
		
	
	We are advised that a total of 52 cases are currently listed as 'open'. We understand that this figure may include cases where the trust has processed damages but has some elements of costs still to be resolved, as well as claims where the case is resolved but where the patient is receiving an annual sum of damages for the rest of their life under a Periodic Payment Order.

Benzodiazepines

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his most recent estimate is of the number of people who are addicted to the use of benzodiazepines; and what information his Department holds on their sources of supply.

Jane Ellison: This information is not collected centrally.
	Information about the use of tranquillisers, including benzodiazepines, is available from “Drug misuse: findings from the 2012 to 2013 Crime Survey for England and Wales” where it was reported that 0.4% of 16 to 59-year-olds reported taking tranquillisers in the last year, of whom 30% had used them more than once a month.
	Information about the treatment of benzodiazepine dependence is available from the National Drug Treatment Monitoring System which records that in 2012-13 1,146 people who were treated for drug dependence cited benzodiazepines as their primary drug.
	The Government has commissioned advice from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs on the diversion and illicit supply of medicines, including the prevalence of misuse of medicines obtained through these means.

Care Homes

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 4 November 2013, Official Report, Column 76W, on social services, what assessment he has made of the (a) conclusion in the recently published report by Independent Age entitled Care home top-up fees: the secret subsidy that many councils are breaking existing national guidance on top-up fees in residential care and (b) recommendations in that report; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Lamb: We are aware of the concerns raised in the Independent Age report on local authority practices with regards to the use of top-up payments. We are currently in the process of introducing a single, modern legal framework for social care and as part of that have recently consulted on a reformed system for how people pay for their care and support. The consultation closed on 25 October 2013 and the responses are currently being considered.
	The current guidance clearly states local authorities' responsibilities and remains in force.

Cleft Palate

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were born with a cleft palate in Great Britain in each of the last five years; and how many such people have received surgery to correct that condition.

Daniel Poulter: The following tables give the number of births (birth episodes) in England the last five years and the number of finished consultant episodes (FCEs) with the main or secondary procedure being the correction of deformity of the palate by age in each of the last five years in England.
	Count of (a) birth episodes with a primary or secondary diagnosis of cleft palate and (b) FCEs with a main or secondary operative procedure of correction of deformity of palate for the years 2008-09 to 2012-13
	Activity in English NHS Hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector:
	
		
			 Table (a) 
			  Birth episodes 
			 2008-09 597 
			 2009-10 622 
			 2010-11 618 
			 2011-12 623 
			 2012-13 668 
		
	
	
		
			 Table (b) 
			 Age 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 
			 7 - 28 days 0 1 0 0 0 
			 1 - under 3 months 19 30 20 24 16 
			 3 - under 6 months 177 210 226 193 205 
			 6 - under 9 months 341 359 .360 387 371 
		
	
	
		
			 9 months - under 1 year 177 190 239 .230 229 
			 1 year 130 164 186 191 196 
			 2 years 51 58 70 63 57 
			 3 years 46 76 76 74 65 
			 4 years 62 86 68 58 70 
			 5-9 years 180 183 172 167 150 
			 10 -14 years 86 100 95 71 89 
			 15 -19 years 64 50 42 45 55 
			 20 years and over 85 92 63 74 64 
			 Unknown age 0 2 0 0 1 
			 Total 1,418 1,601 1,617 1,577 1,568 
			 Notes: 1. A finished consultant episode (FCE) is a continuous period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. FCEs are counted against the year in which they end. Figures do not represent the number of different patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the same stay in hospital or in different stays in the same year. 2. Number of episodes with a main or secondary procedure. The number of episodes where the procedure (or intervention) was recorded in any of the 24 (12 from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and four prior to 2002-03) procedure fields in a Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) record. A record is only included once in each count even if the procedure is recorded in more than one procedure field of the record. Note that more procedures are carried out than episodes with a main or secondary procedure. For example; patients undergoing a "cataract operation' would tend to have at least two procedures—removal of the faulty lens and the fitting of a new one—counted in a single episode. Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health and Social Care Information Centre

Doctors

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the judgment in favour of midwives Mary Doogan and Concepta Wood in the Scottish Court of Appeal on 24 April 2013, whether he has spoken to the General Medical Council about the need to update its guidelines to doctors on the scope of conscientious objection.

Jane Ellison: We understand that NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde have appealed against the earlier judgment and this case is therefore still ongoing. It would be premature to have any discussions with the General Medical Council until the final conclusion of this case.

Electronic Cigarettes

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many companies manufacture e-cigarettes in the UK; and what assessment he has made of the effect on the profitability of such companies from the imposition of medicinal regulation on e-cigarettes;
	(2)  what estimate (a) his Department and (b) the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency has made of the cost of medicinal regulation to e-cigarette companies operating in the UK;
	(3)  what estimate his Department has made of the effect of medicinal regulation on the price of e-cigarettes;
	(4)  what estimate he has made of the effect of reduced product choice on demand for e-cigarettes;
	(5)  what comparative assessment he has made of the toxicity of (a) e-cigarettes and (b) tobacco cigarettes; and if he will make a statement;
	(6)  what estimate he has made of the effect of medicinal regulation of e-cigarettes on demand for tobacco products.

Jane Ellison: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) published an impact assessment (IA) on the regulation of nicotine containing products (NCPs), including electronic cigarettes, on 12 June 2013 which provided estimates of the costs associated with medicinal regulation of NCP. A copy of the IA has been placed in the Library and is available on the MHRA website at:
	www.mhra.gov.uk/home/groups/comms-ic/documents/websiteresources/con286834.pdf
	The IA estimates that there are several hundred companies offering e-cigarettes for sale in the United Kingdom. One company in the UK is known to be developing UK manufacturing capability and there is growing interest amongst other companies. Regulating these products as medicines would likely result in short term transitional losses for some stakeholders, not least any current importers of unlicensed products unwilling to invest in gaining the necessary authorisations and licenses. In the long term, however, we would not expect owners of the capital invested in the manufacture and supply of NCPs to suffer losses.
	The IA makes the assumption that it is likely that manufacturers, European Union marketing authorisation holders, and all other participants in the supply chain would seek to pass their incremental costs onto their buyers, and ultimately to consumers. The extent to which UK consumers would bear the incremental costs is unclear. Pricing of NCPs seems to be constrained at the upper bound by the pricing of tobacco products. The IA suggests that NCP consumers would be unlikely to suffer from substantial price increases if these products were regulated as medicines.
	The UK Government's position is that the right form of regulation will support and stimulate the NCP market.
	The available evidence is that electronic cigarettes are likely to be substantially less harmful than smoking tobacco cigarettes, however, there remains a paucity of scientific evidence on the long term health effects of using these products. The value of the health gains associated with a single successful quit attempt is very substantial—the Department estimates it to be £74,000. The orders of magnitude of estimated compliance costs suggests that a policy of licensing e-cigarettes would have to create very few additional successful quit attempts for the benefits to justify its costs. It is estimated that implementing policies to reduce smoking prevalence by 1% per year for 10 years in the UK would prevent over 57,000 deaths in that period.

Health Services

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  which health projects have been rated as red by the Gateway Review process in the last five years; and what subsequent action was taken in each case;
	(2)  what assessment was made by all Gateway reviews into NHS property services to date; and what action was taken following such reviews.

Daniel Poulter: Since 2009-10, there have been five Gateway reviews which have been set up by the Department where the delivery confidence rating (DCA) has been red. Information is not held centrally on individual action plans arising from individual Gateway reviews. It is the responsibility of the senior responsible owner (SRO) concerned to determine the actions required to meet the recommendations arising from Gateway reviews. Where a review results in a red or amber/red DCA the review team leader will agree with the SRO if an assurance of action plan would be beneficial.
	The Department has not set up any Gateway reviews in relation to NHS Property services Ltd.
	Information on the Government's major projects, some of which include those for the Department and its arm's length bodies can be found in the annual report of the Major Projects Authority. This can be found at:
	http://engage.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/major-projects-authority/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2013/07/MPA-Annual-Report-final-pdf.pdf

Health Services: Reciprocal Arrangements

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 8 November 2013, Official Report, columns 377-8W, on health services: reciprocal arrangements, what the outstanding balance is for each European nation for all EHIC pensioner and all other categories of reciprocal health care systems in total.

Jane Ellison: The United Kingdom provides the European Commission with reports of the total outstanding amounts for all years owed to the UK at the end of each calendar year. The latest figures are for claims for all categories outstanding at 31 December 2012. The total for each country, covering all health care categories, is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  £ 
			 Germany 1,430,023 
			 Austria 2,461,409 
			 Belgium 260,126 
			 Bulgaria 317,588 
			 Cyprus 139,797 
			 Denmark 0 
			 Spain 3,330,256 
			 Estonia 0 
			 Finland 0 
			 France 3,297,649 
			 Greece 2,435,661 
			 Hungary 19,716 
			 Ireland 11,738,340 
			 Iceland 10,206 
			 Italy 13,788,305 
			 Latvia 0 
			 Liechtenstein 0 
			 Lithuania 0 
			 Luxembourg 44,919 
			 Malta 0 
			 Norway 0 
			 Netherlands 0 
		
	
	
		
			 Poland 184,142 
			 Portugal 2,561,467 
			 Romania 767,860 
			 Slovakia 30,649 
			 Slovenia 263,593 
			 Sweden 786,720 
			 Switzerland 79,852 
			 Czech Republic 92,476 
			 Total 44,040,755

Health Services: Staffordshire

Aidan Burley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many non-clinical NHS staff in Staffordshire were paid over (a) £50,000, (b) £66,000, (c) £100,000 and (d) £150,000 in the last four years for which figures are available.

Daniel Poulter: Information on the number of non-clinical national health service staff working in organisations in the Staffordshire area with total earnings over the specified amounts for 2009-10 to 2012-13 is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  July to June each year 
			 Total earnings in period 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 
			 Over £50,000 460 511 543 504 
			 Of which:     
			 over £66,000 157 185 194 166 
			 over £100,000 23 29 33 40 
			 over £150,000 4 5 6 9 
			 Notes: 1. Non-clinical staff have been defined as all non-primary care staff except hospital and community health service doctors, qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff, qualified scientific, therapeutic and technical staff and qualified ambulance service staff. 2. Organisations included in this response which are classified as being in the Staffordshire area are: Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent Partnership NHS Trust, Burton Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (FT), Mid Staffordshire NHS FT, University Hospital of North Staffordshire NHS Trust, North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust, South Staffordshire and Shropshire Healthcare NHS FT, North Staffordshire Primary Care Trust (PCT), South Staffordshire PCT, and Stoke on Trent PCT. 3. Total earnings per person is the amount paid to an individual in the specified 12 month period, regardless of the contracted full-time equivalent. It includes all payments made to the individual, not just basic pay. 4. The most recently published earnings information available is for June 2013, therefore annual average estimates have been provided as at June for the years 2010 to 2013. 5. Figures in the table are provisional and experimental NHS staff earnings estimates, therefore figures shown are those individuals that have met the publication validations. 6. These figures represent staff paid using the electronic staff record system to NHS staff who are employed and directly paid by NHS organisations. 7. Figures are based on staff with contracted hours more than zero. Bank and locum staff that typically have no contracted hours are not included in these figures. Source: Health and Social Care Information Centre NHS Staff Earnings Estimates

Heart Diseases and Cancer

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many officials and advisers in his Department are currently working on research, policy and spending relating to (a) cancers, (b) coronary heart disease and (c) chronic health conditions.

Jane Ellison: There are no disease specific teams in the Department working on research, policy and spending relating to cancers, coronary heart disease and chronic health conditions.
	As of 1 April 2013, NHS England has responsibility for cancer, coronary heart disease and chronic health conditions.
	Teams within the Department are working on policy areas including premature mortality and health inequalities, which relate to these conditions.

Heart Diseases and Cancer

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what meetings with interested parties he has held to discuss (a) cancers and (b) coronary heart disease in the last 12 months.

Jane Ellison: In the last 12 months there have been no meetings with interested parties about coronary heart disease. The following meetings have taken place with interested parties he has held to discuss cancers.
	
		
			 Date Minister Meeting 
			 27 November 2012 Former Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Public Health, Anna Soubry Cancer Stakeholder roundtable meeting with the following attendees: Antony Nolan Cancer Research UK Breakthrough Breast Cancer Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research Teenage Cancer Trust Beating Bowel Cancer Bowel Cancer UK Breast Cancer UK MacMillan Cancer Support Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation Target Ovarian Cancer Ovarian Cancer Action Eve Appeal Ovacome Pancreatic Cancer UK Rarer Cancer Foundation CLIC Sargent Prostate Cancer Charity Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust Skcin Breast Cancer Care Breast Cancer Campaign Pancreatic Cancer Action Samantha Dixon Brain Tumour Trust 
			    
			 7 February 2013 Anna Soubry and The Secretary of State, Jeremy Hunt Cancer Research UK 
			    
			 26 February 2013 Anna Soubry The Member for Wythenshawe and Sale East (Paul Goggins) to discuss blood cancer 
			    
			 7 March 2013 Anna Soubry Target Ovarian Cancer 
			    
			 11 April 2013 Anna Soubry Beating Bowel Cancer 
			    
		
	
	
		
			 12 September 2013 Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Earl Howe Cancer Research UK 
			    
			 12 November 2013 Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Public Health, Jane Ellison Macmillan Cancer Support: Cancer Voices 
		
	
	In addition to meetings, Ministers have attended a large number of parliamentary events at which these matters were discussed.
	In terms of meetings with the World Health Organisation, while there have been several discussions on non-communicable diseases in general, there have been none that were specifically about cancers or coronary heart disease.

Heart Diseases and Cancer

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what meetings he and officials in his Department have had with the World Health Organisation to discuss (a) cancers and (b) coronary heart disease.

Jane Ellison: While there have been several discussions with the World Health. Organization on non-communicable diseases in general, there have been none that were specifically about cancers or coronary heart disease.

Heart Pacemakers

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the potential of new artificial pacemakers made from titanium to give a better quality of life to patients.

Jane Ellison: No assessment has been made of artificial pacemakers made from titanium.

Malaria

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with medical organisations about side-effects of the anti-malaria drug mefloquine.

Norman Lamb: Mefloquine (brand name Lariam) is one of several drugs licensed for the prevention (chemoprophylaxis) or treatment of malaria. As with any medicine, mefloquine may cause side effects in some people and the potential risks should be balanced against the expected benefits of therapy. Information on possible side effects is available to the medical profession via the Summary of Product Characteristics (SmPC), and to patients via the Patient Information Leaflet.
	The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has recently strengthened the warnings in the mefloquine SmPC, particularly regarding the well-established risk of neuropsychiatric side effects. The licence holder also issued a letter to health care professionals at the end of October 2013 to increase awareness of these possible risks, alongside a prescriber checklist and patient alert card to aid compliance with the warnings. In November 2013, the MHRA issued a further communication to health care professionals on the risks of mefloquine via its Drug Safety Update bulletin, which is available at:
	www.mhra.gov.uk/Safetyinformation/DrugSafetyUpdate/CON336723
	Official national guidance on the appropriate use of anti-malarial medicines also summarises possible risks, and such guidance should be considered when prescribing mefloquine. This includes guidance from the Advisory Committee on Malaria Prevention (ACMP), which includes experts from the medical profession. The ACMP approach to chemoprophylaxis is firmly based on risk assessment taking into account the risk of exposure to the potentially fatal malaria parasite, a person's medical history, and the known side-effects of the various anti-malarial drugs. These factors must all be taken into consideration by those prescribing anti-malarials.
	As with all medicines, the MHRA will keep the safety of mefloquine under continual review.

Mental Health Services

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the written statement of 10 September 2013, Official Report, column 45WS, on NHS winter planning, how much of the additional £500 million will be allocated to mental health services.

Norman Lamb: Decisions on where to concentrate the £500 million of additional money provided to the national health service for the upcoming winter were made by NHS England, Monitor and the NHS Trust Development Authority working together.
	These 53 areas have already received their allocations. It was for local partners to agree the best use of this money to support the delivery of the accident and emergency standard for their patients, and in many cases this includes initiatives to support and enhance mental health services.
	In addition, NHS England has now announced a further £150 million to ensure the NHS is able to maintain the current high level of patient care during winter.

Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many non-clinical NHS staff in the Mid-Essex Hospital Trust area were paid over (a) £50,000, (b) £66,000, (c) £100,000 and (d) £150,000 in each of the last four years for which figures are available.

Daniel Poulter: Information on the number of non-clinical national health service staff in the Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust area with total earnings over the specified amounts for 2009-10 to 2012-13 is shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust non-clinical staff paid £50,000 and over, 2010-13 
			  As at 31 March each year 
			 Basic salary 2010 2011 2012 2013 
			 £50,000-£65,999 16 16 15 18 
			 £66,000-£99,999 13 14 12 11 
		
	
	
		
			 £100,000-£149,999 4 5 5 6 
			 £150,000 and over 1 1 1 1 
			 Source: NHS Trust Development Authority/Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust

Modafinil

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with medical organisations about the side-effects and after-effects of the use of Modafinil.

Norman Lamb: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) continuously monitors the safety of all medicines on the market in the United Kingdom. In 2010 during a UK-lead Europe-wide review of the benefits and risks of modafinil-containing medicines, expert advice was sought from the Commission on Human Medicines together with additional medical experts in the use of modafinil. As a result of this review, the authorised use of modafinil was restricted to the treatment of excessive sleepiness in adults with narcolepsy, with or without cataplexy.
	This restriction to the use of modafinil was communicated to health care professionals and medical organisations by the MHRA through an article in the agency's Drug Safety Update bulletin. In this communication, the authorised use of modafinil was emphasised and information was also provided to support safe use, including criteria for stopping treatment and for patient monitoring in order to minimise certain serious adverse reactions, including skin, hypersensitivity, cardiovascular and psychiatric adverse effects. A further reminder of the key safety messages was issued in Drug Safety Update in 2011.

Obesity: Children

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with the health body Safefood on steps to reduce obesity in children.

Jane Ellison: The Secretary of State for Health, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), has not had any discussions with Safefood.
	An official from the Department’s Obesity and Food Policy Branch gave a presentation about Front of Pack labelling at a conference organised by Safefood in 2012.

Out-patients: Attendance

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of hospital appointments have been missed in (a) Gillingham and Rainham constituency, (b) Kent, (c) South East of England and (d) the UK in each of the last five years.

Jane Ellison: Missed hospital appointments are only collected centrally for out-patient attendances and are known as did not attends (DNAs). DNA rates for all specialties for both national health service and independent sector providers in the Gillingham and Rainham constituency (Medway NHS Foundation Trust), Kent, South East of England and England for each of the last five years is included in the following tables. Information relating to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are matters for the devolved Administrations.
	
		
			 Did not attend rates for consultant led first and follow up outpatient appointments 
			 Percentage 
			  DNA 
			  2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 
			 Name First attendances Subsequent attendances First attendances Subsequent attendances First attendances Subsequent attendances 
			 Medway NHS Foundation Trust 8.1 11.6 8.3 11.3 8.5 9.7 
			 Kent 7.6 10.9 7.7 10.6 8.0 9.6 
			 South East Coast Strategic Health Authority (SHA) 7.1 9.8 7.1 9.6 7.4 8.7 
			 England 8.8 11.5 8.8 11.1 8.7 10.5 
		
	
	
		
			 Percentage 
			  DNA 
			  2011-12 2012-13 
			 Name First attendances Subsequent attendances First attendances Subsequent attendances 
			 Medway NHS Foundation Trust 7.7 8.9 7.8 9.5 
			 Kent 7.4 8.4 7.3 8.4 
			 South East Coast Strategic Health Authority (SHA) 6.9 7.7 6.8 7.7 
			 England 8.4 9.8 8.5 9.7 
		
	
	
		
			 Notes: 1. Medway NHS Foundation Trust is the main NHS provider for the Gillingham and Rainham constituency. 2. The Kent figure is a weighted average of did not attends in all Kent providers. These providers are not the same across all five years arid include NHS and independent sector providers. 3. South East Coast Strategic Health Authority total has been provided for the South East of England. Source: NHS England Quarterly Activity Return

Sepsis

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) cases of and (b) deaths from sepsis there were in each region and constituent part of the UK in each of the last five years.

Daniel Poulter: The information requested is shown in the following tables:
	
		
			 Total count of provider spells1 with a mention of sepsis2 in any episode in the last five years of patients admitted to hospital in England by region of residence 
			 Code Region 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2010-12 2012-133 
			  Total 69,731 71,662 79,792 87,257 98,775 
			 A North East 4,504 4,406 4,861 5,288 5,766 
			 B North West 9,868 10,842 12,154 12,953 14,123 
			 D Yorkshire and Humber 7,487 7,491 8,631 8,941 9,689 
			 E East Midlands 6,970 6,458 6,614 7,487 9,411 
			 F West Midlands 6,143 6,002 6,823 7,298 9,574 
			 G East of England 7,195 8,045 8,648 9,516 10,899 
			 H London 9,955 10,881 11,886 12,481 12,953 
			 J South East 10,451 10,297 12,003 14,189 15,588 
			 K South West 6,344 6,567 7,275 8,113 9,660 
			 S Scotland 60 38 41 36 52 
			 U No fixed abode 122 60 48 73 79 
			 W Wales 163 169 219 241 335 
			 X Foreign including Channel Isles and Isle of Man 191 174 218 275 259 
			 Y Not known 274 214 358 349 369 
			 Z N. Ireland 4 18 13 17 18 
			 1 The term ‘spell’ applies to one or more episode of care under a particular consultant. 2 Admissions with a diagnostic mention of the following: A39.2 (Acute meningococcaemia), A39.3 (Chronic meningococcaemia), A39.4 (Meningococcaemia, unspecified), A40 (Streptococcal sepsis), A41 (Other sepsis). 3 Figures for 2012-13 are provisional. Source. Hospital Episode Statistics 
		
	
	The increase in reported provider spells of admissions related to sepsis could be as a result of the information campaign on the 'sepsis six' care bundle which may have contributed to improved recognition of sepsis by clinical staff.
	On 1 April 2012 the NHS moved to using ICD 10 4th Edition in which all references to “Septicaemia” have been replaced with “Sepsis”. The NHS White Paper committed the NHS to this change. This may have raised awareness of sepsis and contributed to improved recording of the condition by consultants.
	
		
			 Number of deaths where septicaemia was the underlying cause of death where the death was registered in England and Wales, 2008 to 20121, 2, 3, 4 
			 Region 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 
			 North East 166 172 151 154 138 
			 North West 268 300 307 294 281 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 218 198 171 194 180 
			 East Midlands 198 210 202 180 141 
			 West Midlands 246 241 237 242 290 
			 East of England 204 193 214 177 209 
			 London 212 196 177 187 153 
			 South East 285 314 263 296 257 
			 South West 228 249 264 221 191 
			 Wales 178 198 189 198 185 
			 England and Wales 2,203 2,271 2,175 2,143 2,025 
			 1 Deaths were coded using International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10), codes A39.2 (acute meningococcaemia), A39.3 (chronic meningococcaemia), A39.4 meningococcaemia, unspecified), A40 (streptococcal septicaemia), A41 (other septicaemia). 2 Excludes deaths of non-residents. 3 Deaths registered in each calendar year. 4 Boundaries as of August 2013. Source: Office for National Statistics

Skin Cancer

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with the NHS and the British Medical Association on new drugs to deal with skin cancer; and when such drugs will be available for prescription on the NHS.

Norman Lamb: Ministers have had no recent discussions with the national health service and British Medical Association about new drugs to deal with skin cancer.

Tobacco: Packaging

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy to introduce plain packaging for tobacco products as a matter of urgency.

Jane Ellison: The Government is actively considering this policy.

LEADER OF THE HOUSE

Ministers’ Private Offices

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Leader of the House whether he (a) has appointed or (b) intends to appoint an enlarged ministerial office.

Andrew Lansley: The information requested is as follows:
	(a) no; and
	(b) no.

EDUCATION

Academies: Oxfordshire

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether his Department has set a target for the number of academies to be established in Oxfordshire.

Edward Timpson: The Department does not set targets for academy conversion. The Department discusses the possibility of conversion to academy status with any school that approaches the Department. Where schools underperform, the Department will discuss with individual schools whether a sponsored solution would be appropriate. There are currently 51 open academies in Oxfordshire (41 converter; 10 sponsored) and 20 in the pipeline (17 converter; three sponsored).

Children’s Centres

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the effect of a reduction in the number of Sure Start centres on long-term learning achievements of young people.

Elizabeth Truss: The Government knows that evidence based early intervention is key to securing the best outcomes for some of the most vulnerable children and families within our communities. The National Evaluation of Sure Start concluded that children's centres need to focus more directly on support shown to have a direct positive impact on children's learning, for example on language development, but confirmed that they are well placed to support the most vulnerable families. The Department for Education published revised statutory guidance for children's centres in April 2013 to ensure they were focused on the families most in need of services.
	The Department commissioned a new Evaluation of Children's Centres in England (ECCE), to be undertaken by the National Centre for Social Research and the University of Oxford and Frontier Economics. The study, which began in 2010, evaluates the range of children's centres, looks at services being provided, costs, usage, impact, and how outcomes vary by user and type of centre. The first report from this evaluation was published in July 2012 and showed that a high proportion of children's centres now use outcome data to monitor their own impact.
	The Department will continue to consider the findings of the ECCE research.

Flexible Working

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many officials in his Department make use of compressed hours arrangements as part of the Civil Service's flexible working hours scheme (a) above and (b) below director level.

Elizabeth Truss: The Department for Education's flexible working policy provides the provision for staff to compress their hours. Existing central reporting tools are, however, unable to identify the number of staff above and below director level who make use of compressed hours arrangements.

Headteachers

Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what data his Department holds on rates of turnover of headteachers in each region between 2003 and 2010.

David Laws: The information requested is not available.

Kings Science Academy

David Ward: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether the funding agreement with the Kings Science Academy in Bradford prohibits the sponsor or the chair of governors from making a financial gain from either the establishment or continuing operation of the school.

Edward Timpson: The Funding Agreement requires the Trust to abide by the requirements of the Academies Financial Handbook (AFH). Paragraph 2.5.2 of the AFH requires trusts to:
	“ensure that no trustee, governor, employee or related party gains from their position by receiving payment under terms that are preferential to those that would be offered to an individual with no connection to the trust”.
	Paragraphs 6.2 to 6.9 of the Articles of Association of KIFSA, the Kings Science Academy Trust, set out the conditions covering financial arrangements between the Trust and its members and governors. These include receiving rent for premises. The Funding Agreement and Articles of Association are available on the Department's website at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/cgi-bin/schools/performance/school.pl?urn=137277

Pupils

Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what data his Department holds on relative levels of pupil turnover in each region.

Elizabeth Truss: The Department for Education holds information on where each pupil attends school at the time of each School Census. Linking information from different censuses makes some analysis of pupil movement possible.
	Analysis is readily available on the number and percentage of pupils who have been in the same school throughout years 5 and 6 for key stage 2 or years 10 and 11 for key stage 4 (referred to as “non-mobile pupils” in the Performance Tables). School and local authority level information can be found in the 2012 Performance Tables download data1.
	To produce further analysis of pupil movement would incur disproportionate costs.
	1http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/performance/download_ data.html

Pupils

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what his policy is on children as young as two attending school.

Elizabeth Truss: The Government believes that high quality early education and childcare has a positive impact on a child's later success at school. The evidence shows that starting younger, in teacher-led provision, can have a real and lasting impact on children's development, particularly for those from the most disadvantaged families.
	The Department for Education wants to see highly qualified staff supporting young children to learn through age-appropriate activities, including play and discovery, story-telling and music, all delivered with love and care. That is why the Department is giving professionals, including those in school nurseries, the freedom and flexibility to use a range of methods to decide how best to structure children's activities throughout the day. It is also why the Department is making it easier for schools to offer early education delivered through a school-run nursery, or by a school working in partnership with a private, voluntary or independent provider.

Pupils

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Education with reference to the Ofsted report, Pupils missing out on education, published on 19 November 2013, what assessment his Department has made of the reasons why 10,000 school-aged children in England may be missing out on full-time education.

Elizabeth Truss: All children of compulsory school age are entitled to full-time education. In the exceptional cases where this is not appropriate because of a child's health needs, provision should be as close to full-time as the pupil's needs allow. The Department for Education issued revised statutory guidance in January 2013 that clarified schools' and local authorities' duties in relation to alternative provision. There is no excuse for them not to be met.
	Since September 2012, school inspection has placed a greater emphasis on the use of alternative provision. Accountability arrangements have been strengthened further with the introduction of Ofsted's revised framework for inspection of local authority children's services. This includes a specific focus on children who are not in receipt of full-time education.

Schools: Finance

Steven Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent progress he has made towards delivering a fairer national funding formula for schools which takes better account of how many pupils are disadvantaged.

David Laws: On 26 June, the Government committed to consult on how best to introduce a national fair funding formula for schools in 2015.
	We are now developing proposals for the consultation. A national fair funding formula will mean that pupils with comparable characteristics such as their level of disadvantage attract a comparable level of funding regardless of where they go to school.

Schools: Inspections

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the annual cost to Ofsted is of inspecting local authority school improvement services.

David Laws: This question is a matter for Ofsted. I have asked Her Majesty's chief inspector, Sir Michael Wilshaw, to write to the hon. Member. A copy of his reply has been placed in the House Library.

Schools: Standards

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many (a) converter academies and (b) maintained schools received an improved higher Ofsted judgement than in their previous such inspection in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13.

Edward Timpson: There are now 2,428 open mainstream converter academies, the majority of which are yet to have a full Ofsted inspection since conversion. This is because most converter academies are already highly rated by Ofsted and so are inspected less frequently than other schools.
	The number of mainstream converter academies that were rated in a higher Ofsted category than their previous inspection was (i) one school in 2010-11, (ii) 79 schools 2011-12 and (iii) 147 schools in 2012-13.
	The number of local authority maintained mainstream schools that were rated in a higher Ofsted category than their previous inspection was (i) 1,703 schools in 2010-11, (ii) 1,448 schools 2011-12 and (iii) 2,386 in 2012-13.
	These figures exclude schools previously rated as ‘Outstanding’ since these schools could not receive a higher Ofsted judgment.

Secondary Education

Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what data his Department holds on differences in average annual schooling hours between different types of secondary school.

Elizabeth Truss: The Department for Education does not collect data on average schooling hours in England.
	The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), has encouraged all schools to consider making changes to the length, content and structure of the school day in the interest of pupils and local circumstances, rather than simply following the norm. All schools in England have the freedom to set the duration and content of their school day as they see fit.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Children: Maintenance

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what progress he has made on plans to reduce the costs of the child maintenance system. [Official Report, 9 January 2014, Vol. 573, c. 5MC.]

Steve Webb: A significant amount of work has been undertaken since 2010-11 to reduce the costs of operating the child maintenance systems:
	cost per £1 of child maintenance collected and arranged has fallen from 39 pence in 2010-11 to around 35 pence in 2011-12.
	The statutory cost of each child benefiting has fallen from £488 in 2010-11 to £425 in 2011-12.
	The net cost of administering child support on a comparable basis has fallen from £527 million in 2010-11 to £485 million in 2011-12.
	These figures are available in the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission Annual Report and Accounts 2011-12, which can be found via the following link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/221408/cmec-report-and-accounts-11-12.pdf

Children: Maintenance

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of additional costs incurred since 2012 as a result of the time taken to implement a new system of child maintenance.

Steve Webb: The Child Maintenance Service was opened to all new applicants on 25 November 2013 following a pathfinder that began in December 2012. This controlled implementation approach is expected to support our long-term cost reduction plans by providing assurance that the system is operating effectively.
	To date, no additional costs to the Department have been incurred since the start of the pathfinder.

Employment and Support Allowance

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what powers of supersession are held by his Department's decision-makers in relation to applications for employment and support allowance; and in what circumstances and for what purposes such powers are used.

Esther McVey: Section 10 of the Social Security Act 1998 provides that a decision awarding employment support allowance may be superseded by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Mr Duncan Smith), either on his own initiative or following an application made by the claimant. It further provides that the decision can only be made where prescribed circumstances apply. These are set out in The Universal Credit, Personal Independence Payment, Jobseekers Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance (Decisions and Appeals) Regulations 2013. They are:
	where there is a change of circumstances;
	the decision was wrong in law, or was made in ignorance of, or was;
	based on a mistake as to, some material fact;
	where the Secretary of State has received medical evidence from a;
	healthcare professional or other person approved by him;
	where the Secretary of State makes a determination that the claimant is to be treated as having limited capability for work or limited capability for work-related activity.

Farms: Electrical Safety

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department has taken to promote electricity safety networks on farms; and what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of those measures.

Michael Penning: The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) produces guidance, ‘Working safely near overhead power lines’ (AIS8), for those working in agriculture. This contains information on avoiding contact with the network of over head electricity power lines that cross farmland.
	Additionally guidance on avoiding the dangers of underground electricity cables on farms and ensuring the safety of the electrical system and portable electrical equipment is contained in HSE's publication ‘Farmwise’.
	HSE works closely with industry-led groups in delivering health and safety messages. The Farm Safety Partnership is currently working on guidance to avoid the dangers of contact with overhead power lines targeted at organisations delivering animal feed to farms.
	Safety messages on the risks of working near over head power lines are also delivered to farmers as part of agriculture Safety and Health Awareness Days. The effectiveness of these events is routinely evaluated.
	HSE also periodically assesses the effectiveness of its guidance. In 2012, ‘Working safely near overhead power lines’ (AIS8) was revised to include references to the longer reach and larger size of modern agricultural machinery and the recommended
	minimum distance from overhead power lines within which certain higher risk agricultural operations are carried out was increased.

Jobcentre Plus

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many complaints were made about Jobcentre Plus services in (a) 2008, (b) 2009, (c) 2010, (d) 2011 and (e) 2012.

Esther McVey: The number of complaints has increased since the introduction of the new DWP complaints process which was completed in December 2012. However, this was expected as the correct recording of complaints has been encouraged with the use of new/consistent processes across all businesses.
	Complaints data is available for the following years (April—March) and includes all Jobcentre Plus services including Work Services Directorate, Contact. Centre Services and Benefit Centre Directorate. Escalated complaints data for Jobcentre Plus is only available from April 2011:
	
		
			  Volume of complaints (excluding escalated complaints) Volume of escalated complaints Total volume of complaints received 
			 2007-08 42,670 n/a 42,670 
			 2008-09 41,182 n/a 41,182 
			 2009-10 55,632 n/a 55,632 
			 2010-11 58,865 n/a 58,865 
			 2011-12 59,677 3,432 63,109 
			 2012-13 67,982 1,685 69,667 
			 “n/a” = Not available

Jobcentre Plus

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of partnership working between Jobcentre Plus and (a) local authorities, (b) NHS bodies and (c) civil society organisations.

Esther McVey: There have not been any formal assessments conducted recently of the effectiveness of partnership working with local authorities, NHS bodies or civil society organisations. In essence these relationships are routinely under review as they are all critical to the successful delivery of the welfare reforms and DWP programmes and initiatives. Consequently regular dialogue and strategic discussions are taking place with each of those groups on an ongoing basis at a senior level.
	Local authorities are key delivery partners for our welfare reforms. Partnership working is essential and DWP is looking to local authorities, as key partners, to help us to provide targeted local support. The Universal Credit Local Support Services Framework was produced collaboratively with local authorities and provides a comprehensive view of the type of services that may be required at a local level.

Jobcentre Plus

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will publish job outcome data for Jobcentre Plus, like that published for the Work Programme, alongside the benefit off-flow data currently published.

Esther McVey: Some information on the reasons given for claimants leaving jobseeker's allowance (JSA) is published on the ONS NOMIS website:
	www.nomisweb.co.uk.
	This includes those who have reported finding employment. DWP have plans to improve the coverage of our measurement claimant off-flows with the introduction of universal credit. These plans have been published as part of a user consultation exercise conducted in January 2013 and published at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/people-and-households-claiming-universal-credit-personal-independence-payment-and-other-benefits

New Enterprise Allowance: Essex

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) referrals, (b) clients engaged, (c) approved business plans and (d) business starts there have been under the National Enterprise Allowance scheme in (i) Chelmsford constituency and (ii) Essex since the inception of that scheme.

Esther McVey: The Department routinely publishes Official Statistics on the new enterprise allowance. These statistics show mentoring starts and allowance starts. NEA participants receive the weekly allowance after their business plan has been approved and their business begins trading. The Department does not publish information on referrals.
	Get Britain Working August 2013 official statistics
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/230333/RESTRICTED_GBW_Official_Statistics_Release_Aug_2013_final.pdf
	Geographical breakdowns of Get Britain Working official statistics
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/230306/gbw-geo-breakdown-_aug-13.xls
	Between April 2011 and May 2013 in Essex, 1,110 people have begun working with a business mentor as part of new enterprise allowance, and 500 people have gone on to receive the weekly allowance.
	Over this period, there have been 100 business mentor starts and 50 weekly allowance starts in Chelmsford parliamentary constituency.

Post Office Card Account

Richard Graham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in (a) Gloucester constituency, (b) Gloucestershire and (c) England receive benefit payments into Post Office card accounts; and what assessment he has made of the suitability of those accounts for universal credit payments.

Esther McVey: The information we have on the number of payments made by Post Office card account in Gloucester parliamentary constituency, Gloucestershire and England are shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Accounts paid into a Post Office card account (POCA)-January 2013 
			  All POCA accounts 
			 England 2,676,370 
			 Gloucestershire 24,980 
			 Gloucester parliamentary constituency 5,670 
			 Note: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Figures refer to payment accounts. Claimants with more than one account will be counted for each account. Figures only relate to accounts live and in payment on the specified date. 3. Child benefit is administered by HM Revenue and Customs and war pensions are administered by MOD. These benefits have therefore been excluded. 4. The data for "Pensioner" accounts are for those receiving either state pension or pension credit. Source: DWP Information, Governance and Security Directorate, 100% data 
		
	
	The majority of universal credit claimants will continue to be paid into a mainstream bank or building society account. A bank account will enable claimants to manage their money and make regular payments for rent and other bills by direct debit.
	It will be possible for universal credit to be paid into a Post Office card account, however, the Post Office card account was designed to be a basic service for the payment of legacy benefits and pensions only. It does not offer any transactional services like direct debits, so may not be suitable for claimants managing monthly payments of universal credit.

Post Office Card Account

Richard Graham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what consideration he has given to extending his Department's contract with Post Office Limited for the Post Office card account beyond March 2015.

Esther McVey: DWP's contract with Post Office Ltd to provide Post Office card account (POca) expires in March 2015. DWP, Post Office Ltd and Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) have begun detailed discussions concerning the future needs of customers beyond March 2015 to ensure that they are not put at risk in terms of having access to their pensions or other welfare benefits. There is an option in the contract to extend for up to two years.

Post Office Card Account

Richard Graham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he expects to make a decision on the future of the Post Office card account.

Esther McVey: The Post Office card account (POca) expires in March 2015. DWP, Post Office Ltd and Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) have begun detailed discussions concerning the future needs of customers beyond March 2015 to ensure that they are not put at risk in terms of having access to their pensions or other welfare benefits.
	A decision on the future of the POca will be made when these collaborative discussions concludes.

Post Office Card Account

Richard Graham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many Post Office card account holders there are in (a) Gloucester, (b) Gloucestershire and (c) England; and how many such account holders are of pensionable age.

Esther McVey: The information we have on the number of payments made by Post Office card account in Gloucester parliamentary constituency, Gloucestershire and England are shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Accounts paid into a Post Office card account (POCA)-January 2013 
			  All POCA accounts Pensioner POCA accounts 
			 England 2,676,370 1,578,120 
			 Gloucestershire 24,980 16,930 
			 Gloucester parliamentary constituency 5,670 3,280 
		
	
	
		
			 Note: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Figures refer to payment accounts. Claimants with more than one account will be counted for each account. Figures only relate to accounts live and in payment on the specified date. 3. Child benefit is administered by HM Revenue and Customs and war pensions are administered by MOD. These benefits have therefore been excluded. 4. The data for "Pensioner" accounts are for those receiving either state pension or pension credit. Source: DWP Information, Governance and Security Directorate, 100% data

Social Security Benefits

Anne Begg: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many jobseeker's allowance claimants with dependent children have been subject to a benefits sanction in each month since January 2011;
	(2)  how many employment and support allowance claimants with dependent children have been subject to a benefits sanction in each month since January 2011.

Esther McVey: The information requested is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Universal Credit

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether (a) he, (b) his ministerial colleagues, (c) a Parliamentary Private Secretary to any Minister in his Department, (d) any of his Department's special advisers and (e) officials in his Department discussed universal credit with any member of the Committee of Public Accounts between the time that Committee took evidence on universal credit and the time that the Committee's Report was published on 7 November 2013.

Esther McVey: I can confirm that none of this Department's Ministers, special advisers or the Permanent Secretary have discussed universal credit with any member of the Public Accounts Committee and to the best of my knowledge, nor have any of its officials.

Winter Fuel Payments

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the cost of sending letters about eligibility for winter fuel payments was in the last two years; how many such letters were sent in both years; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Webb: The information requested is not available.
	There is no central record of the costs for sending out correspondence concerning eligibility for winter fuel payments. Eligibility and payment are generally automatic based on customers receiving an entitling benefit.

Work Programme

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much private sector providers have been paid to run the Work Programme to date.

Esther McVey: The total paid to Work programme providers in the UK is £736 million from the start of the programme through to 31 March 2013, the period covered by the 27 June 2013 statistical release. Due to commercial in confidence considerations we are not able to release financial data below the national level at this time.

Work Programme

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what arrangements he has made to pay back claimants' benefits which have been wrongly sanctioned under the Work Programme; and what the value is of such payments.

Esther McVey: We have in place a robust system of safeguards that seek to ensure sanctions are only applied to those who wilfully fail to meet their requirements. Advisers tailor requirements to ensure they are reasonable given the claimant's capability and circumstance and claimants are clearly informed of the consequences of failing to comply.
	Where claimants do fail to comply they have the opportunity to explain why they have failed. All evidence is considered by an independent decision maker. Where the claimant had “good reason” no sanction can be applied. Where a sanction is applied claimants can ask for the decision to be reconsidered, and can appeal to an independent tribunal.
	When a sanction is overturned upon appeal, the Benefit Centre will arrange for any arrears of benefit to be immediately paid into the claimant's account.

WOMEN AND EQUALITIES

Abortion

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities if she will hold discussions with the Secretary of State for Health on steps to take to end gender-based selective abortions.

Helen Grant: Equalities Ministers regularly meet colleagues from the Department of Health to discuss a range of matters.
	The chief medical officer wrote to all medical practitioners, and others involved in abortion care on 22 November 2013, reminding them of their duties under the Abortion Act. On gender selection abortion the letter highlights that termination of pregnancy on the grounds of gender alone is illegal.
	Further, more detailed guidance will now be developed by the Department of Health in partnership with the General Medical Council, the British Medical Association, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) and the CPS.

Visits Abroad

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities how many overseas trips, and at what total cost, her Department made in each year since 2010; and what costs of (a) flights, (b) internal travel, (c) hotel accommodation and (d) subsistence were of each trip.

Helen Grant: The Department does not hold information for the Government Equalities Office (which transferred to DCMS in April 2013) in a way that enables it to state the cost of overseas travel for the GEO over this period. The GEO’s transfer between Departments means that the data is not all held in one system and is only accessible through a number of different legacy systems. Further detail could be provided only at disproportionate cost.